Lights, Camera, Action!
by CalleighJ
Summary: The BAU team is called in to help Folkston detectives with a hostage situation. The case seems to go just fine when Morgan does an unforgivable mistake that will put Prentiss into a serious danger. Hotch will have to take one of the hardest decision of his career that could cause serious consequences to the team's dynamic.
1. Chapter 1

**Lights, Camera, Action!**

**Hey guys! I know I should be working on my other stories but this super awesomesauce idea popped on my mind yesterday and I just couldn't help myself. I hope you'll like it.**

**Summary: The BAU team is called in to help Folkston detectives with a hostage situation. The case seems to go just fine when Morgan does an unforgivable mistake that will put Prentiss into a serious danger. Hotch will have to take one of the hardest decision of his career that could cause serious consequences to the team's dynamic.**

**A/N: On a timescale, the story is situated between season five and six. The Doyle thing didn't happen yet but Haley is dead, JJ didn't receive her job promotion at the Pentagon and is still the media liaison to the BAU team and detectives. Hotch is the current leader of the team (Morgan took his place for few episodes after Haley's death).**

**Rated T but some chapters may be rated M.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds, though I wish I do. I do own the original characters of this story that I've created.**

**Chapter 1**

_''You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality.'' - Ayn Rand._

* * *

**(Emily's place)**

"There you are!" Emily said while grabbing the bottle of scotch and raised it over her head. She then grabbed two glasses and made her way to the living room. She raised the bottle in front of her and grinned. "Want to drink?" She asked to her guest and the man nodded in a quick smile. Emily poured the gold liquid into both glasses then reached her male guest and handed one to him. As she sat down on her couch next to him, they clinked their drinks together and took a sip of their scotch. Emily let out a long low sigh as her eyes connected with him. "You know, this was one hell of a case." She said as the man's eyes were glued on his drink. "Derek? What's wrong?" Her voice filled with concern as she put one of her hand on his shoulder.

Derek took a moment before finally looking up and shot a worried look to Emily. "I... I really thought you were..." He put his glass down on a side table and turned to face Emily. "I thought you were dead and I just..." Emily was touched by Derek's concern. "I would never have forgiven myself if..." Emily took hold of Derek's hand and gave him a comforting smile meaning that he shouldn't blame himself. "Emily, it's all my fault! You almost die because of me. What happened between us should have never interfered with our work but it did and it's all because of me." Even though Derek' eyes were filled with tears, he didn't shed one. He was sad but was even more angry at himself for what he'd done to Emily.

The brunette pulled him into a comforting hug and squeezed her eyes shut. "You know, you weren't alone. We were two and we're both adult and mature. What happened was not just because of you, I was there too." She said trying to comfort her friend but didn't really succeed. Emily drank bottoms up her scotch and poured herself another drink. "To be honest, I blamed you at first but then I blamed myself." She said staring at her drink. She blew a sign and looked up. Emily took Derek's drink on the table and handed it back to him. "Bottoms up!" She exclaimed as both drank their scotch. Emily filled her drink a third time and drank it in one gulp.

As she was about to pour herself a fourth drink of scotch, Derek put his hand over her glass. "I think you should slow down on the alcohol, don't you?" He made her notice as the brunette rose one of her shoulder in a tiny shrug.

"I'll be fine." She answered and poured herself her fourth drink. "These last days have been pretty hard. Not just for me but for you as well!'' Prentiss bowed her head and let out a long sigh. ''I'm glad you came by, I really needed it." She said after taking a sip.

Morgan raised an eyebrow and stared the brunette with an amusing look. "Oh, so you need me?" He then gave her his flirtish smile.

Emily gasped a giggle and kindly shoved him. "Oh come on! You know exactly what I meant!"

Derek smiled at her remark "And I meant exactly what I said." He added and drank the rest of his scotch.

Emily froze in the moment not sure if she had understood her friend. She bowed her head as her eyes connected with her drink. How many did she drink? Was it six, seven or maybe eight. She looked up toward Morgan and noticed he was still smiling at her. She awkwardly smiled back at him and looked away. This had to be the alcohol. Was Derek trying to hit on her? Was he? Emily straightened her head and eyed Morgan. "What?"

* * *

**(BAU - Two weeks ago)**

"I bet you ten bucks that you can't do it three times in a row!" Prentiss challenged her teammate, Dr. Spencer Reid. The brunette pulled a ten dollar out of her pocket and showed it to Spencer before putting it down on her desk.

The young chestnut haired agent gave a smile at his partner. "Challenge accepted!" He said whereas he put one of his hand into his bag of skittles candy and pulled out three. Reid raised his head and stared the ceiling while throwing one of the candy in the air. It then fell down right in his mouth and looked at Prentiss with a look that said you're-going-to-lose-that-bet.

''Eh, still two!'' The brunette said as she rubbed her hands together. Spencer did the same process for the second one and once more it fell right into his mouth. As he threw the last one in the air, JJ who wasn't aware about Emily's and Spencer's bet, walked toward them and made lose Reid's focus. As the skittle fell onto the floor, Emily stood up and pointed the candy. ''Ah! Ten bucks!'' She shrieked and stretched her hand, palm up.

JJ looked her brunette's partner with a mix of confusion and amusement. Spencer threw an annoying look at the blonde who still had no idea of what just happened. ''Dammit JJ!'' He snapped at her as he put his hand into his pocket and pulled out his wallet. The chestnut haired genius handed the ten bucks at Prentiss and went back to his working desk with looking irritated.

JJ's eyes wandered to Reid to Prentiss. ''What... The... Hell... just happened?'' The blonde said not sure if she should laugh or keep her serious. She looked at Reid who clearly seemed annoyed and then looked at Prentiss who had a silly smile on her face. ''Did I miss something?'' She added with a little smile.

''Oh you made him missed his bet!'' Prentiss said chuckling, then noticed Morgan and Garcia coming into the bullpen. JJ blew a giggle just as Morgan went toward both female agents asking what was funny. '' Reid doesn't like to lose.'' Prentiss said and shared a laughter with JJ.

All five agents turned their head toward Hotch's office as they saw him stormed out and walked over Rossi's office. He exchanged few words with him and they both climbed down the stairs and reached the other FBI agents into the bullpen. ''Everyone get packed up. We're wheels up at Folkston, Georgia, in thirty minutes.'' The dark haired supervisor announced before leaving them and got into the elevator.

''We're not getting a briefing about the case before?'' Morgan asked to Rossi with a confused look.

''Hostage situation. An eleven year old girl held against her will. The police of Folkston doesn't know where she is held but they think they know who could be their guy. They want us to make their suspect talk by interviewing the guy.'' He filled them in. ''Oh and they also have three other killings each with a different MO.''

Morgan widened his eyes. ''Well, guess we're going to Folkston!'' The dark skinned profiler replied.

As the profilers started to walk out the bullpen, Garcia wished them a safe flight and exited the bullpen and reached her office. Prentiss shot a look at Morgan. ''Hope everything will go fine, so we'll be back for the weekend.'' She let out and Morgan asked her what was so important this weekend that she couldn't miss. ''It's my Atlantic City weekend!'' She exclaimed as he gave him a tiny smile.

''It's only Tuesday, Emily.'' JJ added with a tiny eyebrow-raise. ''We'll probably be back before Thursday.'' She noted as she got into the elevator with her teammates. She then shot a look at Rossi. ''Did they already have a suspect in custody or they just have an idea of his identity?'' JJ supposed that the UnSub was a man since female serial killer was extremely rare and in a small town like Folkston, chances to have one were very weak, though not impossible.

''They have someone in custody.'' He answered. ''They want us to lead the interview.'' Rossi stayed fuzzy about the details of the case since he too didn't know much about it.

* * *

**(On the jet – Day 1 of case)**

Prentiss who climbed last into the jet walked toward the team and sat next to Rossi, in front of JJ and Spencer. Morgan sat on the other seat row while Hotch was sat farther filling out reports before starting the briefing of their new case. Ten minutes after the lift-off, Hotch joined his profilers and remained on his feet. He spread few pictures and papers on the little table between the four profilers and took the speech. ''Six months ago, Karen Baker, an elderly homeless woman has been disemboweled in front of a Baptist Church. She was killed after midnight, no witness. The Father Bernardson found the victim around 6 in the morning.'' Hotch took a pause before getting to the next victim. ''About 3 months ago, a fortyish owner of a funeral home, Duncan Miller, got killed from a shotgun wound to the head in his funeral home. According to the legist report, he's been killed between eleven pm and one in the morning but his body has only been discovered three days after by one of his customers. Three weeks ago, the third victim has had her throat cut. Ellen Shepherd, a thirty-five year old spouse and mother. The suspect attacked in her home at daylight while her husband was at work and her child at school. The husband found the body around two in the afternoon.'' Hotch stopped talking when he noticed Morgan's surprised face.

The dark skinned profiler look up his supervisor then his eyes went back on the paper he was holding. ''The suspect ripped her heart off!'' Morgan exclaimed in a surprising and inquiring tone, though it was a statement. The fortyish male agent let his supervisor take the word again.

''Today around 9 in the morning, Ariel Prescott eleven year old, has been abducted when she was getting into her mother's vehicle to go to school. The suspect shoved the girl into the mother's van and got into the van as well. The mother who was at the front door saw everything but by the time she reached her parking, the man was already driving away with the stolen vehicle.'' Hotch finally finished his briefing and waited after his profilers to start elaborating some theories.

Reid creased his brow in thought then looked up with narrowed eyes. ''The crime locations are all scattered at different places of the town.'' He stated as his eyes went back on his paper.

''Are we sure it's the same guy for the killings and the abduction? I mean even the killings are way too different from each other. It's almost like if there was three or maybe four different killers in the same town.'' JJ began sharing looks with her partners. ''How the police of Folkston got to a conclusion of only one killer? And mostly how did they find the suspect?'' She wondered aloud as everyone gave a nod, except Hotch.

''They aren't sure that they're dealing with only one criminal that's why they requested us. Morgan and Prentiss I want you to go to the first scene and also the second one after. See if you can reconstitute the crimes. JJ and Reid, go to the third scene and interviewed the husband of the victim. Dave and I will go to the Prescott's house to talk to the mother.'' The supervisor ordered. ''Then Rossi and I will go back to the Police Department Center to interview their suspect.

* * *

**(BAU, Hotch's office – Present day)**

The agent Aaron Hotchner was sat at his working desk filling a report about their latest case. When he was done with it, he took another look at it then tore the papers and tossed his report in his wastepaper basket. As Rossi passed in front of his office, he stopped when he saw Hotch tearing something up. ''Still working?'' He said as he stood near the threshold. ''Have you spoken with Strauss?'' He then asked as he took a seat in front of his supervisor.

''No.'' He simply answered. ''I was filling that report but if I do it...'' He paused as he let out a long sigh. ''I don't even know if I'm going to tell her. I know I should but if I do this, he will be discharged and he doesn't deserve that.''

''What do you have in mind?'' Rossi asked him knowing that his partner had an idea.

''Remember the case in New York. They had offered him a promotion to go work there.'' He started as Rossi furrowed his brow.

''Are you really thinking about sending him away?'' The older agent demanded with a concerned look.

Hotch thought a moment then glanced Rossi with a convinced look. ''Yes, that's what I'm thinking. By the end of the week, Morgan will be transferred to the FBI New York Field Office...''

**Okay so this was the first chapter. I'd like to know if I should continue this story and if you liked it so far.**

**CalleighJ**


	2. Chapter 2

**Lights, Camera, Action!**

**A/N: Thank you everyone for all the subscription and review alerts! I'm happy that you want me to continue this story. Just few little things you need to know before reading this chapter. First, I haven't specified if this story was going to be a romance pairing or a friendship pairing. To answer this question, I'm going to write a friendship, though there is only two chapters written therefore a romance might also be possible.**

**Next thing, the story is mostly from Emily's POV. The only part so far that is not from hers is the last part of the first chapter. And if there is a different one, I'll warn you at the beginning of the chapter.**

**The story can get a little confusing because there will be a lot of back and forth from past to present. All the part when they are in Folkston to solve the case, as you probably noticed it, is in the past. For everything else, it is sort of in the present (I can't be clearer about that, sorry!)**

**Chapter rated T (Just for safety!) All mistakes are my own!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds!**

**Happy reading!**

* * *

_***Present day***_ _"Things that we see aren't always what we're looking for. Sometimes we need to dig deeper to get to the truth. If only we had known it earlier, if only things had turned out differently...''_

**(Folkston, Baptist Church. First scene - Day 1 of case, early afternoon)**

Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss stood on the concrete ground in front of the Baptist Church. She as usual wore her convenient black boots, a classy black pants and a black blouse. As the sun was beating down on her, she was cursing in her head regretting her choice of color. She however forgot how unpleasant the heat was when a couple walked behind her snapping her out of her thought. Her focus returned on her work and on the Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan. The black skinned profiler, also wearing black clothes, held the police report for victimology in his hand and observed the spot in front of him. Through his sunglasses, Prentiss fancied to see a subtle eyebrow raise from her partner. "Found something?" She asked and reached him to see which photo of the scene Morgan was holding. She tilted her head a little over her teammate's shoulder and took a look at the picture. The body of an elderly homeless woman was lied down on the very spot that Morgan was looking at. A part of her internal organs spewed out of her body. An important pool of blood under her body indicated to Prentiss that the victim was killed at this very spot and that her body hadn't been moved. Everything about this crime suggested a random act. The victim, the location and the way to kill seemed to have been chose randomly.

Morgan finally rose his eyes from the ground and turned his head toward his partner. Hands on his hips and brow creased in thought, Morgan blew a long sigh. "This killing was completely messy. The suspect has had to get dirty while murdering the victim. He definitely left the scene covered in blood. Maybe there hadn't been any witness here but someone would have definitely noticed a man wearing clothes all covered in blood if he was walking." He stopped as Prentiss deduced the rest of his theory.

"Considering the fact that the three killings are all opposed from each other, even thought it's a small town, the suspect probably has his own vehicle. That's why nobody noticed him and I wouldn't be surprised if he had spare clothes in his vehicle." She concluded as she turned her head from right to left to scan the area. Her gaze stopped on the northeast corner of the Church where she saw the hood of a gray metallic Altima as the rest of the car was hidden behind a wall of bricks. She walked over the vehicle and looked where Morgan was standing. "I think that's where he parked his car." She said with a louder voice, since Morgan was too far from her to speak on a normal tone. The dark skinned agent reached his co-worker. "You can't see the driver from there but from here, we have a complete view of the front of the Church." She added while Morgan checked her theory and went next to the driver's car's door.

"Makes sense." He said after few seconds. "Do you think he waited in his car until the victim shows up?"

"That would means that he's patient and thus organized despite all the mess he's done." She replied. "What I'm wondering is, if he calculated each of his moves or if it was all random.

"He can be a disorganized killer with a good technic to kill." Morgan said. "There's a lot of rage through this killing. It almost look... Personal for the suspect." He turned his head toward Prentiss and frowned. "Do you think the victim might have known our suspect?"

The brunette ducked her head in sign of disapproval. "I don't think so." She replied and shared her own hypothesis. "Despite the fact that he's patient to find the right victim, it looks like the killing had been committed in a rush." She pointed the crime picture. "The marks on the stomach are irregular, probably an amateur." She deduced.

"If we take into account that the three killings have been committed by the same person, this is a hell of an escalation. Improving his technic, murder after murder." He noted while he read through the police report. "He used a knife for the first and the third murder and a gun for the second..." He paused to read on the paper. "There's something I just can't figure out." He added and shared a look with Prentiss.

...

As they'd learned everything they needed to, the profilers headed back to the black Tahoe SUV. Morgan took the wheel and Prentiss climbed into the passenger's seat. While he started the engine, she began to consult the report of the second killing. As Morgan gave her a sideway look, he noticed that the brunette was frowning. "What?" He asked as his eyes were back on the road.

"The killer had had to face the first victim but the second victim, Duncan Miller had had a shot gun point blank at the back of his head..."

"Go on" He added interested in his colleague's words.

"Well, the victim didn't see his molester. At least not when he was shot." She took one of the crime scene photo underneath the paper she was reading at. "The victim is pretty broad. I don't think he would have given his life up without fighting."

"You think the UnSub has killed in a rush like in the first?" Morgan asked as his eyes were glued on the road.

"That and that our UnSub is a coward and likely not physically strong. Duncan Miller has no sign of struggle." She said now glancing over the legist report. "The UnSub used a gun because he knew he would have never succeed to kill his victim without one. Duncan Miller never saw the shot come."

Only twenty minutes away from the first scene, Agent Morgan and Agent Prentiss climbed out of the black Tahoe and made their way to a one-story, flat-roofed brick building. Except the police and the CSA team, no one had came here since they had found the body. This was a plus for the profilers because they would see the place exactly as it was when Duncan Miller got shot. Morgan pulled out a key that the detective in charge of the investigation had given him when they were in front of the Folkston PD before he and Prentiss head to the first scene. He cut the yellow crime scene tape stuck on the door and unlocked it. As he swung open the door, he let Prentiss in first then followed her.

A long hallway separated four rooms, three were funeral halls and the last one at the other end was Duncan Miller's office. The agents walked over the office where the killer had committed his murder. They both stepped into the office and took few minutes to scan the room. The walls were painted white and nothing decorated them. Actually, nothing except a plastic plant in one corner of the office decorated the place. A large window took up almost the entire wall opposed to the door. On the two other walls were some shelves but nothing on it. In the complete centre of the room was the victim's desk. Over ten different pictures of his family were set onto it. Prentiss creased her brow in thought as she took one of the photo. "I don't think this man liked his job." She said without looking up at Morgan.

The male profiler reached his teammate within few steps and glanced over her shoulder. He raised one eyebrow as he looked at the other photos on the desktop. "You're right! This office is cold and the only stuff that bring more warmth are these photos." Morgan went over one of the shelves and noticed some forms into the dust. "No one came here since the murder?" He asked suddenly feeling that something was off.

"Except people investigating on the case, no." Prentiss answered as she put the photo back onto the desk and walked over Morgan. "Someone has removed some stuff in here." She said sharing an inquiring look with the dark skinned agent. "Do you think someone came back after?"

"You mean before the body was found or after the investigators came?"

Prentiss looked into Morgan's eyes and read into him knowing exactly what he was thinking. She opened the manila folder she was holding and consulted it before looking back at her partner. "Harry Davenport." She said. "He was supposed to meet the victim the day he found Duncan Miller's body."

"Does it say anything else?" He crossed his arms and tilted is head a little.

"Harry Davenport had proposed him to redeem his funeral home but Duncan had turn the offer down. Harry came back the day he'd found his body to make another deal to Duncan."

"Shame that there isn't any camera in here. Though, if Davenport was our guy what kind of relation he would have had with the other victims?" Morgan blew a sigh thinking they were back at square one.

"That leaves us with the theory I told earlier. It's a random act. Besides, Harry Davenport is off the hook according to the Folkston PD."

"So we have a little idea to what kind of killer we're dealing with. We should go back to the others by now and hope that what we have found fits with the man Hotch and Rossi are interviewing." Prentiss nodded to her partner and they both headed out of the second crime scene.

Morgan closed the front door and locked it then joined back Prentiss who was already climbing into the black SUV. The ride back to the Police station took only ten minutes since every thing in this town was near from everything. Morgan parked the vehicle alongside two other black Tahoe SUV and got out. As both profilers made their way in to the Folkston PD center, an officer greeted them asking if he could help them. Morgan didn't need to add anything else after he had indicated to the young male officer that he was a FBI agent. The young man led them to a room where they could watch Hotch and Rossi questioning the suspect. As soon as they stepped into the room and looked through the one-way glass, Prentiss's mouth dropped open and Morgan's eyes widened as they saw who Hotch and Rossi were interviewing.

* * *

**(Emily's place)**

"I've got the chance to talk with Derek today." JJ said as her eyes wandered to Emily to the floor. "He looked so..." The blonde stopped to think about the choice of her word. "Devastated."

Emily could hear her voice broke. She knew how Morgan was feeling lately. They had solved this case few days ago and since then Derek had came over her place everyday to know how she was recovering. She liked all the attention and care he was giving her. What she didn't like was his pity look on his face when he was talking about what happened between them during this case. Just thinking that he was still blaming himself broke Emily's heart. After all, it only happened because Emily went too far with him. Even though Derek didn't make it easier since he continued. She's however been snapped out of her thoughts when she noticed JJ coming closer to her. Emily stared deep into the blonde's eyes as they both remained silent for few minutes. She gave her a sad look when she noticed JJ's eyes filling up with tears. "Hey JJ, what's the matter?" Emily asked with a soft and sad voice.

"You have no idea how scared I am Emily." She started still trying to hold her tears back.

Emily's eyes widened then narrowed in concern. "What why?"

She looked down as she felt her hand being take by the blonde' ones. She straightened her head staring deeply into JJ's eyes again. The blonde brought Emily's hand near her face as hers were squeezing it. "You're scaring the crap out of me Emily Prentiss!" She suddenly blurted out trying to sound angry but her voice seemed to choke in her throat.

Emily frowned in confusion and put her other hand on hers. "What are you talking about? JJ I'll be fine. As soon as I get the OK from the doctor, I'll go back to work with you guys. But seriously you don't have to worry for me, I'm okay." She said trying to reassure her friend but it didn't seem to work very well.

"I'm so afraid that you leave us." She said and now she couldn't manage to hold her tears whereas few started to trickle down on her cheeks.

"Huh, what? Why would I leave?" She shot a dumbfounded look at the blonde. "Okay now you have to stop that! I am not going anywhere. Do you hear me?" She neared herself from JJ's face and looked into her blue eyes. "I am not going to leave you." Her voice was low almost like a whisper.

JJ released Emily's hand from her grip and slowly stood up without keeping her eyes off of the brunette. "I swear to god Emily, if you dare leaving me..." She stopped mid sentence as she leaned and gave Emily a kiss on her forehead. They both remained still for over a minute before JJ eventually removed her lips from the brunette's head.

Just when she turned her heels and was about to leave, Emily take hold of her hand causing the blonde to turn around. "I won't, I promise." She said swinging their hands back and forth and giving the blonde a warm smile before she left Emily's place.

_***Present day***_ _"What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, right? I wish it had worked that way..."_

* * *

**SO, did this chapter confuse you? First that weird part with Morgan then with JJ... (I've noticed that I've never really written some tender Jemily moment in my stories.) Was it good or bad?**

**I want your opinion! With who do you think Emily should be paired up for the next chapter?**

**With this, I'll let you press the review button! :)**

**CalleighJ**


	3. Chapter 3

**Lights, Camera, Action!**

**A/N: New chapter is up! Thank you guys for all the alerts! I can assure you that this is a M/P story but I wanted to involve the others since there is a case to solve. And all the other pairing with Emily are just friendship (probably Morgan too but I haven't decided yet if it will end into a romance).**

**You can read now! :)**

* * *

***Present**_** day*** "I feel sorry for her but above all I feel sorry for myself for having fell into the trap..._''

**(Folkston PD, Law Enforcement Center - Day 1 of case, late afternoon)**

_..."So we have a little idea to what kind of killer we're dealing with. We should go back to the others by now and hope that what we have found fits with the man Hotch and Rossi are interviewing." Prentiss nodded to her partner and they both headed out of the second crime scene._

_Morgan closed the front door and locked it then joined back Prentiss who was already climbing into the black SUV. The ride back to the Police station took only ten minutes since every thing in this town was near from everything. Morgan parked the vehicle alongside two other black Tahoe SUV and got out. As both profilers made their way in to the Folkston PD center, an officer greeted them asking if he could help them. Morgan didn't need to add anything else after he had indicated to the young male officer that he was a FBI agent. The young man led them to a room where they could watch Hotch and Rossi questioning the suspect. As soon as they stepped into the room and looked through the one-way glass, Prentiss's mouth dropped open and Morgan's eyes widened as they saw who Hotch and Rossi were interviewing..._

''You have got to be kidding me!'' Morgan let out with a dumbfounded look. He turned to Prentiss who was staring at the suspect, unblinking. ''They can't be serious!'' The dark skinned profiler crossed his arms while Prentiss continued watching the interview and waiting for their supervisor to give them an explanation.

Few minutes later the two older agents got out of the room and reached their colleagues who were now in a conference room, which had been set for them at their arrival at Folkston PD. Emily's brow was creased in thought, trying to consider how the police could have end up with this ''kind of'' suspect. The brunette started to think about that if Reid would be here with them right now, he would come up with some statistics that would go against the conclusion of Folkston detectives. She's however been snapped out of her deep reflexions when she noticed Morgan standing up from his seat. She knew he was as confused as her and she also knew that Morgan did not believe one second in the police's ''theory''. As she turned her head where Morgan's gaze was, she saw Hotch and Rossi coming into the room. ''What the hell is this? Are they serious?'' She heard her brown skinned teammate snapping at their superior with a bewildered look.

She glanced over Hotch as the man ignored Morgan's comment and grabbed a free chair. ''Hotch,'' He said trying to get his attention. The raven haired supervisor slowly tilted his head up to look at his profiler who had remained on his feet. ''Seriously, how the hell a teenage girl can be suspected of three damn killings and a kidnapping?'' His palms were leaned against the table as his eyes were locked on Hotch's.

Hotch's stoic face didn't flinch. For few seconds, Emily could have swear that Hotch and Morgan were having some sort of eye-look contest to know who would be the first to look away. Her eyes wandered to one to another then she connected with Rossi's who seemed a bit entertained by the situation. Maybe he was thinking the same thing as her as well. The brunette turned her head again and noticed Hotch had lost the contest and was now stretching his arm to grab one of the file on the middle of the table.

''Have you read the report?'' He asked with a calm and low voice. He put down the file open on the table as Prentiss lifted her body to grab one of the folder's sheets. Morgan shook his head no and Prentiss looked down on the paper to read it.

''What are we supposed to know?'' Morgan asked almost sounding annoyed, although Prentiss knew he wasn't annoyed by Hotch's question but more by all the teenage-girl-suspect thing. Hotch threw a sideway look at the brunette and the paper she had in hands and returned his gaze on Morgan. The well shaped profiler took the seat next to Hotch. ''Did she say anything that can help us finding back that girl?''

Raising her eyes from the sheet, she looked at Rossi who until now had remained silent. ''She didn't say anything the whole time we were in there.''

As anyone didn't respond back, the brunette took that as a cue to speak up. ''May I?'' She said pointing at the door while getting up from her seat. She gave a look at her superior as he agreed with a nod and let her go out.

The three male agents got up as well following Prentiss as she got into the interview room while they entered into the other room to watch their colleague.  
**  
**

* * *

Emily opened the door and closed it behind her. She walked over the table took a look at the girl. '' Hey'' she said tentatively but the girl wasn't looking at her. ''I'm Emily.'' She introduced but still the girl didn't flinched so she decided another approach. ''It's been quite a moment you're in there, you must be thirsty. You want some water?'' The brunette asked and for the first time, the girl looked her but didn't answer her question. A shiver traveled along Emily's spine as the girl eyes seemed to throw daggers at her. Emily could feel that the blonde haired teenage girl was angry but she also perceived fear into her eyes. ''I'm assuming that they already told you why you were here.'' She pretended to not knowing that previous interrogatory with her supervisor and co-worker. Prentiss finally decided to sit and placed her arms on the table. ''Do you know why they brought you here?'' She repeated her previous sentence only as a question now just to try to get the girl to talk.

The blond shot a defiant look as she raised her chin. ''Because I kill people. Because I'm a killer.''

Emily's body straightened as she heard the girl talking for the first time since she got in. She was surprised by her response but even more with the choice of her words. She hadn't said killed, which would suggest that she was planning on killing other person but Emily could hardly believe that she was the one responsible for those killings. Prentiss decided to do something she knew her superior wouldn't approve but she had to try. ''You know what, I don't think you're a killer. I don't believe one second that you killed those people.''

At first, the girl shot her a yeah-right look then she probably reconsidered Emily's words because she shot her the same look she had made when she first glanced at Prentiss. Although now there weren't daggers in her eyes nor angry, just fear. ''Why you don't believe me? I'm a killer for them.''

Prentiss knew she was talking about the officers who arrested her earlier. ''Because I don't. I've seen a lot of criminals in my FBI career and I don't believe for one moment that you are the one who did those awful things.''

The blonde' eyes wandered to Emily to the table and Prentiss noticed how even more scared she seemed than few moments ago. As her eyes filled with tears, her gaze connected with Emily's. ''But I did!'' She burst into tears and hid her face into her hands.

Emily rose from her chair thinking it was time to have some talk with her colleagues. ''I'll bring you a glass of water.'' She pretended before exiting the room.

* * *

It wasn't as if she had done something bad but by the look her superior was giving her, she knew she'd gone a little too far. ''Prentiss, why did you do that for?'' His tone was low but strict. ''We don't know yet if she's innocent.''

Prentiss frowned surprised that her supervisor could believe that a small teenage girl could kill like that. Of course it wasn't impossible but by the look the blonde had given her, she could swear that this girl was innocent. ''She wouldn't open up. I just thought that if I let her think I was on her side she would talk to me and she did.''

''I think she's right, Hotch.'' Morgan joined them and decided to supported Emily over Hotch, which made the dark haired team leader to roll his eyes and nodding at Morgan. ''I think she should go back in there. This girl may not be the killer but she clearly has something that could help us to catch him.''

After a nod of approval from her boss, Prentiss went to grab the folder Hotch handed her and a glass of water and made her way back in to the interrogation room. ''I'm sorry for the wait. Here's your water.'' She put the glass down in front of the blonde and went to take the seat opposite the teenage girl. The girl had stopped crying but her eyes were a little red and puffy. ''You haven't told me your name?'' She asked although she already knew what it was. She just wanted to get her to talk to her a little more.

''Paige'' She said after few seconds. Her eyes were glued on her glass and even if Emily was talking to her, she wouldn't look at her.

Prentiss opened the folder and pretended to read few lines. ''So you're a writer?'' She asked but the girl didn't respond her this time. Emily decided to go straight to the point. ''Why did you decide to write the murder of this homeless woman?'' This time the girl looked up and connected with Emily's. She wasn't sure what kind of emotion she was seeing into the blonde' eyes but it made her feel more concerned about the girl's situation.

She saw the girl's body straighten and blowing a long sigh. ''I thought I was going crazy. I had all these strange and inappropriate thoughts and for a moment, I really considered being like them. But I started to write all those thoughts and it got better. That feeling that made me think I was going crazy slowly disappeared and I got happier. I know I'm not like them.'' She explained and Emily carefully listened her. ''But I think I went too far when I decided to write one for a school project and I gave the story to my teacher. The day after it was all over the news and when I heard it was like in my story I panicked.'' The blonde stopped and furrowed her brow.

Emily narrowed her eyes when she had mentioned that her teacher had read her story the day before the killing. ''Something wrong?'' She asked noticing the troubled look on the girl's face. She didn't respond her question, instead her face seemed to have turned into a stone face. ''I think I'll come back later? Is it okay?'' But the girl was gone in deep thought. Something Prentiss found a bit weird about that girl but she shook the thought off and walked out the room.

* * *

When Emily got out of the room and walked through the police station's bullpen, she noticed how everyone seemed tense. Officers were rushing in and out the station as others who weren't wearing a police uniform were talking on their phone. She knew something had happened and by the look one of the detective had, it wasn't good. She made her way back to the room where her colleagues were but when she came in, there found Hotch alone sat at the table. "Where's everyone?" She asked him as her eyes were looking for her folks.

Hotch stopped his reading and turned his head toward the brunette. "A teenage couple found a body of a young girl corresponding to the physical description of Ariel Prescott." Emily perceived some sadness behind his stern voice although his face looked stoic. "I've sent Morgan and Rossi there."

She grabbed the seat next to him and sat. Emily opened her mouth to say something but closed it as a thought traveled through her mind. "If it's not her, do you think that it can be the same person for the killings and the kidnapping?"

"I doubt that, but you know the work and mostly the criminals. And this one doesn't seem to follow any pattern. He changes the murder weapon after almost each killing, the MO is always different. There's no specific victimology..."

"We also haven't figured out his signature yet." She said with a frown. "As you said, this guy has a different MO for each murder. It's to think if there are four different molesters in town..." She added but stopped in a mid sentence with her brow creased. She tilted her head a little, her eyes glued on the table with a thoughtful expression on her face.

"Prentiss?" His eyebrows arched down as he stared her with a mixture of concern and curiosity. "What's up your mind?"

"I'm thinking about this case we had in Cleveland about a year ago." She started and noticed Hotch throwing her inquiring look.

"You mean the copycat who was copying famous serial killers?" Hotch raised one of his eyebrow although it was barely visible.

"Yeah, it sounded better in my head. But still, there has to be something that relates every murder to each other. Otherwise we would really be dealing with four different criminals." She cursed internally for sounding stupid in front of her superior.

"If the suspect is a copycat, we have to find out what's he copying or who." He answered in a matter of fact voice.

The dark haired supervisor's phone rang and he picked it up without checking the ID caller. "Hotchner" ... Emily read through the police report while his boss was on the phone. "Are you sure?" She overheard. "Okay, we're on our way." He said before hanging up and put it back in his pocket. He remained silent a couple of seconds until Prentiss raised her eyes from the report. "Interested in getting the case somewhere?"

She cocked her head a little surprised as a subtle smile played on her lips. "What do you have in mind?"

"How about taking a little ride?"

"I'm in." She said as both profilers rose from their seat and walked out of the little conference room.

* * *

**(Emily's place)**

"Stop looking at me with this little puppy face!" Emily snapped at the young chestnut haired man.

"Everyone is worried about you, Em." He said as he took hold of her hand. "It's hard to see you like this and I wish I could do something to help you." She wanted to yell at him that she was alright but when she noticed how sad and lost he seemed, she couldn't help herself but to touch his cheek in an attempt to reassure him. "It's completely different without you around us."

It broke her heart to see him like that. "Reid" She was surprised by the sadness in her tone. "You have nothing to worry about. This situation may sucks but I'll get used to it. It's not that bad you know!" She lied as Reid seemed to believe her.

Spencer decided to come closer to the brunette as he pulled her into a hug and lay himself against the back of her couch. Emily was placed under one of his arm as the other one surrounded her. "I miss you." He said with a genuine voice .

Emily hesitate a little then she delicately lay her head on his shoulder. "I miss you too, Spencer."

_***Present day***_ _"Sometimes bad things happen. Sometimes we can prevent them but sometimes they are just inevitable."_

* * *

**Not too confused? Why everyone go visiting Emily at her place and why they all seemed so sad? Bet you wonder what the hell happened during that case! :)**

**I know that little ''Hotly'' moment wasn't that good but I wanted to pair them up during the case cause I love the interaction between them both while they work together. The Reid/Emily(Remily) moment was short but don't worry there are other lovely moment between these two later. I haven't forgot I was writing a Morgan/Prentiss fic (You can tell me that this chapter sucked because there was not very a Demily moment) but this chapter was necessary to get to the action in the story.**

**Few questions for you for the next chapter! There's going to be some drama to come between... :) you'll see! Anyway I wanted to know if the little girl who had been kidnapped should be the dead girl that they found or should it be another little girl who would have been kidnapped too? I have idea for both so... your choice! :)**

**Thank you all you can review now! :)**

**CalleighJ**


	4. Chapter 4

**Lights! Camera! Action!**

**A\N: Nothing much to say except to enjoy this chapter!**

**All mistakes are my own!**

**Happy reading!**

**Chapter 4**

* * *

_***Present day* **''I never meant to leave you. Please forgive me. I never meant to leave you...''_

**(Folkston, latest crime scene - late afternoon)**

She climbed out of the vehicle and walked in direction of a small wood followed by Hotch. "That's not a very romantic place to take his girlfriend out on a date!" The brunette popped out and shot a sideway look at him, then smiled as she saw his reaction.

"Excuse me?" Hotch kept his serious but she knew him well to know that he was a bit confused by her remark.

"I'm talking about the teenage couple who found the victim." She narrowed her eyes as her lips curled up. "What did you think I was talking?" She asked on a teasing tone.

Hotch gave her a tiny eyebrow-raise and blew a sigh. He was used to these kind of references with Garcia but was always a bit confused when Prentiss was acting like this with him. ''Shouldn't we stay focused on our work?'' He answered a little more serious.

''Of course!'' She exclaimed on a desolate tone. ''The suspect really didn't want us to find the victim.'' She said as she turned the subject onto the case again. As Hotch lifted the crime scene's yellow tape, he let the brunette walk in the perimeter first then followed her. They proceed through the crowd of forensics,detectives and officers until as Emily spotted the detective in charge of the investigation. The grayish haired man made Emily think of the former FBI agent Jason Gideon. He wore black shoes, a pair of blue jeans and a white striped blue shirt. Though his physic was pretty look like to the former profiler, he wasn't as compassionate and emotional as Gideon was. Emily felt a shiver down her spine when her eyes connected with him. His expression was hard and his gaze was ice cold, almost as if he had no soul. She definitely didn't trust him. She saw her supervisor shaking the soulless man's hand.

''Detective Richardson,'' Hotch greeted after the handshake. The detective went to shake Emily's hand but she crossed her arms and gave him a tiny smile instead. She knew she'd made him uncomfortable and Hotch probably noticed it too because he broke the silence, ''Detective, have you been able to identify the victim?'' He asked without keeping his eyes off of his interlocutor.

The officer in charge ran a hand through his gray hair then released a breath. ''Without a doubt!'' He answered as he shoved his hands into his Jacket' pockets. He started to walk as Hotch and Prentiss followed him up to a tree. When he stopped, he lowered his head. "We did nothing to stop this..." He added with a hint of anger in his voice.

"This is not your fault, detective." Hotch stated on a tone that Emily had heard a lot when a colleague was blaming itself for the tragic fate of one or many victims. "Have you find anything new?" He asked without dwelling on the guilt of the detective.

"The legist reported her death to only three hours ago. She was killed from a shot gun wound to the back of her head, exactly like the second killing." He made a pause and exhaled an exaggerated sigh. "How the hell can someone have the guts to shoot a nine year old girl? Have you ever seen something more horrible than this?"

"We've seen a lot of atrocities in our career that can't be compared." Emily stated as she put her hands on each side her hips. She lowered her head to look at the motionless victim's body. "Do you think our UnSub experienced remorses?" She was now talking to his supervisor.

Hotchner seemed to consider the victim's position a moment before giving an answer. "It's possible. The suspect hadn't planned on killing the girl but something came up and had to get rid of her. That could explain why the victim's body had been laid face down." Hotch heard Richardson sigh in disbelief. As if the fact that the suspect can experience remorses was impossible. "Is there a problem, detective?" He asked a bit annoyed by the detective's behavior which was noticed by Prentiss who had already seen this expression on his boss's face.

"There won't be anymore." He answered harshly. "This bitch is going down!" He articulated with a genuine anger. The detective was about to add something else but was cut off by two new presences.

Rossi and Morgan had joined them to exchange what they had found. As Rossi started to explain his theory, he noticed the tension in the atmosphere. He slowed his speech until the silence wrapped them. Rossi took an inquiring look and eyed his dark haired male partner. "Have we interrupted something?" He wondered out loud, eyes wandering to the detective, who clearly seemed angry, to Emily, who was staring Richardson with a displeased look.

Emily knew that all eyes was on her but she ignored them. "Who were you talking about?" She demanded still staring at Richardson. She wasn't completely convinced that he was talking about her but who else could it be?

Richardson backed away a little and took a defensive position. "She knew exactly this would happen!" He snapped at her waving a hand in the victim's direction. "She is responsible for this and the others too! She is going to pay for that. You can be sure that I'll bring this bitch down!"

"Her name is Paige and if you are too dumb to understand that she could have never killed this girl because she was with me in custody when Ariel Prescott died, maybe you shouldn't have choose this career! This is sad and awful but you can't put the blame on whomever the hell you want!" The words left her mouth so fast that she hadn't noticed she had crossed the line.

"What the fuck is wrong with her? Have you ever showed her how to behave in public?" He articulated nastily without even looking to the brunette.

"I think..." Rossi's attempt to calm the atmosphere had failed and so as Prentiss's composure.

"You're one sexist son of a bitch!" She barked at him. As she took a step forward in the detective's direction, she felt a strong pair of arms holding her back.

"Prentiss!" She heard Hotch calling her name but she was too blinded by the anger to see anything. The only thing she heard after was Morgan saying he'll handle it.

When she started to recover all her senses, she noticed that Morgan had put his arms around her and was leading them back to the place they had parked the SUVs. "Emily?" She wondered how many times Morgan had call her name and the only response she gave him was a grunt. "Emily, you want to tell me want the hell happened back there?" He asked with a genuine concern.

"I just can't stand him!" She was quick to answer. She put her eyebrows in a frown when she saw Morgan's lips curl up.

"Yeah, we saw that!" He smiled then took back his worried expression. "But why? Did something happen?" As they reached the parked black Tahoe, Morgan opened the passenger door and made a sign to Prentiss to climb in.

"I don't know, there's something weird about this guy as if he was up to something. I just don't trust him at all." She explained while hopping into the vehicle. Morgan listened to her then he nodded and walked around to got into the driver's seat. "Where we're going?" She suddenly asked with a curious look.

Morgan eyed Prentiss and started the engine. "How about a little break? I saw this little Pizzeria in town that looked delicious." He offered while he made the SUV back away and turned on the left to return on the road. "So?" He asked her again when he noticed she hadn't replied yet. "It's already five pm and I am sure you haven't ate today!"

His last comment made Emily frowned. "So what, you want to take care of me now?" She asked with a defiant tone.

"I would if you asked me." He replied honestly without keeping his eyes off of the road. After twenty minutes, they were back in town and were only ten minutes away from the pizzeria. They remained silent in their thought until they were finally arrived. Morgan parked the black Tahoe in front of the restaurant and climbed out. Prentiss hopped out and followed him toward the pizzeria. "My stomach is already looking forward to this pizza!" He commented with his eyes closed and his nose rising up as if he delightfully enjoyed the smell. Whereas she eyed her partner with an amused look, they entered in the restaurant.

"You want to sit here?" Emily pointed to the corner booth in the back.

"Anywhere is good for me!" He answered and headed to the place Emily had proposed.

"Right! As long as you get your pizza, it's all good!" She quipped and took the menu on the table. "So, do you want to share a vegetarian with me?" She asked with a teasing look.

Morgan blew a giggle. "How about pepperoni and cheese!?"

As they were friendly arguing the choice of their pizza garnishes, a twentyish chestnut haired waitress came up to them with a little notebook and a pen. "Hi! are you ready to order?" Morgan stared Prentiss few seconds, with an unsure look. "Or I can come back in five minutes if you want?" She suggested when she saw that both didn't say anything.

Prentiss raised her eyes and connected with the waitress's. "It's okay, we'll have a half pepperoni and cheese half vegetarian." The waitress nodded then asked them the pizza size. "Medium?" Emily turned her head toward Morgan and he gave her a nod of approval.

"So, a medium half pepperoni and cheese half vegetarian?" She repeated the command to be sure. "Would you like anything to drink with your pizza?"

"Iced tea for me!" Emily exclaimed as Morgan ordered the same drink. They watch the waitress walking away then turned to face each other. "Do you think I've overreacted?" She asked him with a more serious look.

"There were wrongs on both side." He replied genuinely. "I don't think that telling him he was a sexist son of a bitch was necessary though." He added with a hint of teasing in his voice. "But I think you're maybe a bit too involved in this case." He paused when the waitress came to them with their drink.

Emily furrowed her brow in confusion. "I know I went too far with Richardson but what makes you think I'm too involved? I am just doing my job. I want to bring the bad guy to justice." She took a gulp of her iced tea then eyed Morgan. Her eyes widened suddenly. "Speaking about bad guy, did they interview Paige's teacher? She told me that he had read her story the day before the first murder." Another silence when the chestnut haired woman came back with their pizza.

"Its a dead end," Morgan said while taking a bite of his slice of pizza. "They questioned him and he has a strong alibi. He was at his home when the murder was committed and his wife and seven year old daughter can testify it."

Prentiss dropped her shoulder and the piece of pizza she had in hands. "Then there has to be an explanation. This girl is not the killer neither a partner. She is innocent, I could swear." Emily drank her iced tea and took a look at her watch on her left wrist. It said six ten pm. She knew that after their pizza they would return to the local PD to continue the investigation. However, she wasn't looking forward to see the detective Richardson again.

Morgan snapped her out of her thought, waving a hand in front of her. "Are you going to answer?" He asked as Emily gave him a confused look. "Your phone." He said and lowered his head to Emily's cell phone laid on the corner of the table.

"Oh." She simply said and pushed a button to answer without checking the ID caller. "Prentiss."

"Emily," A female voice said and as she recognized the familiar voice, the brunette leaned back in her seat, answering by the positive. "There's someone who wants to talk to you." JJ added without giving her any other details.

Emily frowned not sure if she should be worried or not. Morgan had probably noticed the uncertainty on her face because his eyebrows were arched down and his eyes narrowed. She didn't have the chance to ask to her blond friend who wanted to talk to her that a different voice suddenly spoke out. "Emily, can we talk?" The voice was young and seemed extremely nervous.

"Paige? Why...? What's the matter?" Prentiss wasn't sure what to say such she was surprised by this call. She knew by the tone of her voice that the teenage girl's was about to break down.

"I want to talk to you." Short silence and Emily heard the young woman sniff as if she just had cry. "I need to show you something."

Still confused, Emily shared a look with Derek who was trying his best to understand what was going on. "Okay, I'm on my way." The brunette finally said before hanging up her phone. As she rose from her seat, she took a last sip of her iced tea. "We have to go back to the station." She said as Derek stood and shoved his hand in his pocket to grab his wallet. He dropped on the table enough money to cover the bill and a generous tip for the waitress.

"What's going on?" Morgan asked once both were back in the SUV.

"I'm not sure... I think something happened and Paige is involved."

**(Emily's place)**

Her attention was all on the dark haired male pacing before her in her living room. An expression on his face that she until now had never seen. Was it some kind of anxiety or maybe fear? They still haven't talked since he was here. Maybe he was feeling guilty, like they all seem to feel lately. "Did you come here only to dig a hole into the floor?" She finally articulated but the man seemed to focus in his thought to even notice that she had just say something.

He suddenly stopped after few minutes and joined the brunette. The expression she had seen earlier was no longer on his face, it has gave way to another one more familiar. He was sad. "I know you'll get through this. You're a fighter." His words seemed to choke in his throat and Emily knew he wasn't convinced of his own words.

She wasn't sure what to do or say. She had tried to comfort her friends the best she could, considering the situation. "Aaron?" His name worriedly escaped her lips and in an hesitant move, he took her hand.

"I'm sorry I haven't visited you since..." He interrupted himself searching his words. The tears started to fill his eyes up. "Don't leave us, we need you..." Emily would have probably been annoyed by all the concern everyone had for her but the man she was looking at had dropped his stone wall and for the first time she knew he had no idea what to do. ''I think I'm doing a mistake.'' He said after few minutes of silence. She bore her eyes into him and squeezed his hand, ready to hear his confession. ''I'm not sure what to do about Morgan...'' He paused to search his words. ''You both shouldn't have done that but what Morgan did was...'' He stopped again and lowered his head as if he wanted to stop himself from saying something he would regret. ''If Strauss comes to know what really happened that night, he will lose his job...''

Emily knew that Hotch was right and the more she listened him, the more she feared the decision he had taken. ''So what are you going to do? How will you hide this from Strauss?''

''...But he doesn't deserve this. Derek Morgan is a very good man that I respect a lot. I'd put my life in his hands... That's why I think he should be transferred to the FBI New York Field Office at the end of this week.''

It took few minutes to Emily to assimilate the words but when she did, she removed her hand from his hold and looked his supervisor with a dumbfounded look. ''What!? No, you can't do that! It's all my fault if Morgan did...'' She interrupted herself when she noticed Hotch leaving the room.

He stopped at the doorway and turned. ''Hold on Emily. Please, hold on...''

_***********_

*Present day* ''What happened was just a tragic misunderstanding. I hope I'll get the chance to see you again before I die...''

* * *

**So do you think Emily overreacted? And what do you think about Richardson and Paige?**

**Another Hotch/Emily moment... How do you think Morgan will react to be sent away and how the team will react? Humm...**

**I wonder if you guys have any idea where this story is going!?**

**Anyway hope you liked the chapter. Don't forget to review! :)**

**CalleighJ**


	5. Chapter 5

**Lights! Camera! Action!**

**Thank you guys for all the reviews and alerts! Here's another chapter.**

**Chapter 5**

**_*Present day*_**_ "It's hard to profile a suspect who's using evidences to its own advantage. No one would suspect the guy behind the mirror.''_

"Where is she?" The brunette almost yelled out, half-angry half-concerned. She faced Richardson, giving the man a black look. Her body tensed when she felt Derek's hand on her shoulder, as though he wanted to hold her back from hitting the detective. She backed away a little but kept on staring harshly the detective.

...

Eight hours had passed since Emily had received Paige's call. Right after their Pizza, she and Morgan had headed back to the local law enforcement center. When they had arrived, JJ was waiting her, sat in a room with Paige. Emily cast a glance to JJ who reached her to the threshold. "I think you should reconsider the fact that maybe Paige is involved in this." The blond had advised her before looking at the teenage girl.

"I know she's involved!" Prentiss argued. "As a victim." Her arms were crossed as though she wanted to reject any other theory that was different from hers.

"Maybe not just as a victim." Her voice didn't sound reproaching, but worried. "I, as you, believe that Paige is innocent. But someone's doing a lot to put all the blame on her." She laid a hand on the brunette's arm. "She has somehow a connection with the UnSub. She will lead us to the killer." At that moment, JJ had no idea that what she'd just say was the key to solve this case. Then the blonde went out the room, leaving Emily alone on the threshold.

Emily and Paige had spoken a good fifteen minutes before the blonde finally showed the reason of her call. She had showed to Emily four written books. Each telling the stories of the crime scenes in all the smallest details. Emily's breath seemed to race up while her eyes were reading the stories. Even the things that the press hadn't specified on the news were written. Things that only the law enforcement knew. "Paige, why didn't you show me this before?" She had exclaimed on her worried tone.

Paige looked her with tears in her eyes. "I don't know! I'm sorry." Emily set the books down on the table and stared the blonde as if she wanted her to explain why she hadn't showed them before. "I didn't thought it was important. I'm really sorry." She paused few seconds and bit the inside of her inferior lip. "Am I in trouble?"

"Does anyone else have read those stories before today? Emily was convinced that Paige was innocent, yet someone really wanted to put all the blame on that girl.

Paige lifted an eyebrow a little surprised. "You think someone has used my stories to commit these murders?" She stopped, a bit scared about her own question. "Why someone would want to do this? Why my stories?"

"I don't know, Paige. Is there anyone you can think of that would want to harm you?" The teenage girl had taken few moments to ponder Emily's question.

"I don't really have a lot of friends at school but I've been hanging out with a guy... Older." Paige saw the brunette's eyes widened as if she'd just gave her the answer. "That's not what you think! We're just friend. He already has someone and besides, I've never showed them to him." She laid her hand on her books. "But I did talk about it with him." Emily had asked about her older friend's relationship, but apparently she didn't know much. She knew she was a college girl, but that was it. Paige had also explained that they had more like a brother/sister relationship. ''I know he wouldn't hurt me.''

* * *

An hour later, a twenty-ish chestnut haired man was sitting in an interrogation room, wondering his presence in the police station. Hotch had led the interview and then came back twenty minutes later with an unexpected new. "Jackson Myers is the detective Richardson's son." All the profilers had a dumbfounded look on their face. "Richardson lost Jackson's full custody when he was twelve." Hotch had rushed to specify.

"Wait, how did we miss this? You think Richardson his our guy?" JJ had popped out still surprised by the new.

"The crimes have been committed by someone who is not sophisticated. A novice." Rossi had added to the conversation.

"Jackson?" Reid had asked with an eyebrow-raise. Emily had watched the whole discussion without a word. She was thinking about Jackson and the fact that he was now the prime suspect of the investigation. She knew the detective would be very angry when he find out. She was also thinking about Paige and what she had showed her just before leaving the room.

"There's something else." The brunette had added, interrupting her partner, Derek. "Paige hasn't finished to write her last story." Everyone's eyes were on her.

"But we have Jackson. What's so important with the end of her story?" Derek had answered her with a voice that had made her back away a little.

"In her last story, there's supposed to have two kidnapping. But so far, we only have one. If Jackson isn't the killer, we might have another kidnapping soon." Her colleagues seemed to consider her words.

Five hours later, they weren't even close to have a suspect. Jackson had a strong alibi for every murder. They were back at square one. They had let Paige leave the police station to get some rest at her house, under surveillance of a patrol car. A young officer had drove her back. Hotch had proposed to his team to get some rest as well. It was past two in the morning and Emily couldn't seem to find any sleep. She rolled over and over in her bed. She finally gave up the idea of a good night sleep and decided to review the case instead. An half hour had passed before the buzz of her phone broke the silence. "Prentiss." She had answered then listened to the male voice on the other end. Her eyes widened as the voice seemed to distort.

* * *

**(Present day - Hotch's office)**

Morgan was sitting opposite his boss, frowning in disbelief. After all they've gone through, the good and the bad moments. How could he dare doing this to him? The new almost felt as if he had been punched hard in the face. He felt betrayed, above all. He trusted the man with his life for god's sake! His fists clenched so tight that his arms started to shake.

''You can't do that, Hotch! You can't send me away, just like that!'' It came out as though a bomb had been dropped. His breathing was fast and loud, to show how angry he felt. The knot had started to form when Hotch started speaking about that night in Folkston two weeks ago. Derek said that he regretted what happened which was true, partially. He did regret Emily's tragic accident but he surely didn't regret what he'd done after. He did it for Emily, maybe a little bit for him as well.

''I'm sorry, Morgan.'' Hotch lowered his head. This was definitely something hard to do, probably one of the hardest decision he'd taken in his career. But Derek didn't care about his boss' feelings right now. The man was sending him miles away goddammit. Sending him miles away from her.

If the situation had been different. If Emily wasn't... He closed his eyes and shook his head. The tension between he and Emily hadn't been missed by their colleagues yet they'd let it go. But they shouldn't have. They should have listen to her from the beginning. He should have. Anger, but mostly desperation, just kept growing inside him, ready to explode at any moment. He couldn't leave. Not now. Not without saying goodbye to Emily. The thought that he would never have the chance to tell her made it all worse. That was too much to hold in. He clenched his fist tightly and smashed it violently onto Hotch's desk. ''No!'' He snapped with a threatened look. His supervisor didn't flinch. He turned his heels and stormed out of the office. He made sure to slam the door after leaving.

JJ, Spencer and Penelope, who were talking about Emily's condition, immediately turned their head to the sudden loud noise. Rossi, who had remained in his office, didn't miss the thundered sound that came from Hotch's office. He knew what that was about and he understood this sudden outburst from Morgan. After everything Derek had been through lately, Rossi couldn't help but think that maybe Hotch had made a mistake.

The profilers' eyes narrowed in concern when seeing Derek running down the stairs. Reid made an attempt to stop him but Morgan shook his hand off his shoulder and pursued his walk. The three exchanged worried look as they watched him headed out of the bullpen. Penelope was the only one to react. She rushed herself to the chocolate skinned agent, leaving JJ and Spencer behind, not caring if they were following her.

''Derek!'' She called out as she reached him before he got into the elevator. ''Hey sugar, what's the matter? What was that outburst for?'' She genuinely cared for him and that seemed to appease him for a moment. But that feeling quickly faded as the conversation with Hotch emerged not so far from the back of his mind. How could he do this to him? He still wasn't getting over it and probably never will. He couldn't leave. No, he wouldn't leave. His decision was taken. He would stay. That means that he would have either to quit, otherwise be fired. He didn't want to stand against Hotch decision but he didn't want to leave either. They had already offered him the job in New York that he'd turned down. He wasn't interested. His place was here, nowhere else.

Morgan didn't want to complain, nor blame his boss for how he'd reacted. He understood though the concern of his blonde friend. But it was between Hotch and him. ''Nothing. It's all good, Penelope.'' He didn't mean to be rude but the look the blonde had on her face told him the contrary. ''I'm sorry, baby girl. I'm just having rough days.''

A wan smile escaped her lips. ''It's okay. Apologies accepted.'' Morgan pulled her into a friendly embrace. ''We're all having rough days lately.'' She paused and considered her words. ''Emily will be fine.'' She said, but Derek could sense her nervosity and knew that she wasn't as convinced as she tried to sound like.

'Right.'' He nodded, though he didn't really believe it. ''I think I'll go visit her.''

''Do you want me to come with you?''

''I think I'd need some time alone. I want to talk to her.'' He said as he couldn't help the tremor in his voice.

''I understand.'' She patted her arm. ''Call me if you need to talk. Okay?'' He nodded. Garcia watched him getting into the elevator as a genuine look of concern appeared on her face.

* * *

**(Emily's place)**

She watched him, as he slowly dropped in the couch next to her. He exhaled one long breath and seemed to ponder his words. "Oh Emily, what have we done?" She wasn't sure if he was talking about what happened to her or Paige. She hadn't heard from her since the incident. It was understandable, though. Paige was probably trying to forget or rather moving on from this tragic night. She couldn't blame her. Since her accident, her nights were filled with nightmares. She could only imagine how hard it was for Paige.

She felt a hand taking hold of hers. "What have we done, Emily? What have we done wrong that you find yourself in this state?" Emily narrowed her eyes, all ears. She wanted to speak, but something was telling her that Rossi needed to get it off his chest, so she listened. "It was right in our face from the very beginning. This was a terrible mistake that we followed. If you're here right now, it's not your fault. It's ours. We've let you down. I don't expect you to forgive us, but I hope you'll find the strength to forgive yourself. You deserve it, more than anyone else. And I know you're probably blaming yourself for this, but it's not your fault. You've done a wonderful job. Don't ever doubt that." A subtle smile played on his lips as his eyes were lost in hers.

Emily furrowed her brow. Unsure how to deal with what he just said. "But Rossi, I'm right here!" She let out in a questioning tone.

Rossi removed his hand and stood up. "Take good care of you Emily." He said before starting to walk away from her.

"Rossi! I'm here! I'm right here!" She almost yelled this time, but the man didn't flinch. Didn't turn back.

_***Present day* **"Appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes the truth isn't what you see but what you do not see."_

* * *

**It was a short chapter but hopefully the next one will be much more longer. You'll finally get to know what happened to Emily. About her, what do you think is going on with Emily? Anyone's confused? Don't worry, questions will be answered in the next chapter, at least a great part.**

**Next chapter will be mostly Demily. There will be a little of team interaction and also a Garcia/Emily moment. They will finally find out who their UnSub really is!**

**Sorry for the mistakes!**

**Any comment, opinion on this chapter? On the story so far?**


	6. Chapter 6

**Lights! Camera! Action!**

**A/N: Thank you everyone who read, reviewed, favorited and subscribed. I really appreciate it. Last chapter, I told you that you'd finally get your answers... Well I lied. I thought it would be over with this chapter but my little muse decided otherwise! So please forgive me. :)**

**Happy reading!**

**Chapter 6**

**_*Present day*_**_ "We walked straight into it because of me. I am really sorry. You have no idea how sorry I feel."_

_"Where is she?" The brunette almost yelled out half-angry, half-concerned. She faced Richardson, giving the man a black look. Her body tensed when she felt Derek's hand on her shoulder, as though he wanted to hold her back from hitting the detective. She backed away a little but kept on staring harshly the officer in chief._

"I don't know where she is!" Richardson spat, hands on hips. He blew an arrogant sigh and whirled around, heading back to another officer.

Emily didn't know why she was so affected by this case. Neither why she couldn't stand the detective Richardson. Something was simply off about this man. She shook all the bad feelings of her head and turned to face her supervisor, who had just joined her. "So, what's going on?"

Hotch cast a glance around him, frowning. "The suspect knocked unconscious the officer, then broke into the house. He went straight to Paige's room. There's no sign that can tell us that she tried to fight him off. There's not a lot of reasons why a person would follow a serial killer without defend itself." Emily knew exactly where he was going and before he could tell more, she interrupted him.

"She knows him." She said. "She would have never followed a stranger out of her house, unless..." Another epiphany seemed to break through her mind. "Unless he threatened her with a gun." Her mind was spinning at a dizzying speed, trying to figure out what had happened.

"Maybe it was both." It was Morgan who'd talked. Emily hadn't even notice he had joined them, neither how long he's been there. She shot him a look that said to develop more. "Yeah, maybe it was both." He repeated. "Maybe she knows him but didn't want to follow him, so he threatened her with a gun.

As a short silence took place, detective Richardson broke it asking if they had any lead. "We think she might know the suspect." The detective raised an eyebrow and placed his arms crossed. The way he'd react when Hotch had given him the info, made Emily narrowed her eyes, suspicious. He looked tensed, more than usual.

"Oh." He said and set his brow into a frown. "Anyone in mind?"

Hotch shook his head negatively then turned his look back to his profilers, as Richardson walked away. "We should go back to the station and share with the others what we've found here. Dave, JJ and Reid are there trying to figure where the UnSub could have taken Paige." Morgan and Prentiss nodded as they headed to their designated SUV. Hotch went in his black Tahoe alone, leaving Derek and Emily with the other vehicle. As the dark skinned profiler headed to the SUV, Emily stopped when she heard the detective in charge cursing.

"What the fuck is that?!" He said, as the brunette turned around to see him staring at his phone, dumbfounded.

"Something wrong, detective?" She politely asked. Though she was more curious about what made him react like that than concerned about the detective's state.

He looked up and seemed to hesitate before showing his phone. "I don't know." He tempted to say but the words were missing. He took a deep breath to reformulate. "I don't know how he knows my number. How did he find it?" His tone was worried, yet Emily thought for a moment she'd perceive a little bit of excitation in his voice.

Prentiss took the phone and glanced it to feed her curiosity. She widened her eyes, looking as dumbfounded as Richardson had looked right before showing her the phone. "That's Paige! When did you get this?" She didn't let him respond that she already had started to speak again. "Wait, that's where we found Ariel Prescott, the last victim's body. We have to go there now!" She rushed to say, concerned for Paige's safety. The girl had been tied up and gagged to prevent her from screaming. She was crying and Emily couldn't help but feel like she was going to shed few tears. But she didn't. She had to get control over her emotions. It would be no good to let her emotions driving her.

"What about your team? Not that I don't want to go, but I don't want to get there without any back up.

Emily didn't really think before speaking. "I'll go with my partner. I'll call the rest of my team on the way."

"Okay, you go and I'll get the reinforcement." He threw a glance at Morgan, then returned his gaze to Prentiss. "Don't worry, I'll be there with back up. Just don't go there alone." He advised her. Emily didn't argue and rushed to the SUV.

Morgan looked his partner climbing into the vehicle and frowned. "I didn't know you and Richardson became good friends." He said with a slight smile forming on the corner of his mouth.

"We're not." She urged. "We have to go back to the last crime scene. I'm not sure but I think this is where the suspect is holding Paige captive." She said as Derek turned to face his co-worker with a little eyebrow-raise. Morgan didn't argue but did ask if the others were going there as well. Emily nodded and took her phone to call Hotch.

She waited until he answered. "Prentiss? I only left ten minutes ago, did something happen?" She heard him asked on the other end.

"We think we might know where the suspect is keeping Paige captive. Detective Richardson received a photo on his phone from the suspect. We figured that he'd brought her to the last dump site." She resumed and waited for his supervisor to talk.

"Richardson hasn't called us yet, but I'll inform the others. We'll join you and Morgan there." He said as they both hang up their phone.

She turned her head to Morgan who was focus on the road. "They'll join us there." She simply stated.

Twenty minutes later, Derek had parked the SUV on the side road. They sat still in the vehicle for few minutes without speaking. Emily decided she'd waited long enough and got out of the car. Morgan followed her right after asking her what she was doing. "I'm not gonna stay here waiting for everyone to come. Paige is here somewhere and need help. I'm going to help her." She whirled around and started walking on a determined step. She let her hand on her holster, ready for any sign of danger.

"Prentiss! I can't let you go there without anyone to back you up." He said as he joined her with a quick step. As Prentiss, he reached his gun in his holster, ready for action. "You know I trust you with my life and I'd never let you down, but could you tell me what is going on with you? You've been on the edge since the beginning of this case." She knew she was too involved but couldn't admit it. She promised herself that she would save that girl and she will. That was her job anyway. "Prentiss?" She heard him calling her name as he broke her out of her thought.

"I'm doing my job. Here's what's going on with me. And I am sorry if I'm acting like a bitch, but..." She cut herself as a noise caught her attention deeper in the woods.

It was a moonless night and the agents had to use their light to guide them further into the darkness of the woods. It was difficult to make everything out since their flashlight only provide them a little circled area. Morgan was talking, but she didn't listen. She was focused in to try listening the noise again. It was as if someone was walking not very far from them. It was suddenly dead silence, Morgan had heard it too and was on guard for any danger. An eerie wind arose and swept off the leaves on the ground. They walked deepening themselves further into the woods. Emily remembered it took Hotch and her seven good minutes to reach the crime scene. She also remembered the police had made a path to get to the scene easier from the road. But there was no yellow tape to guide her. She knew something was off. She knew the killer was here in this woods with them. He'd removed the ribbon so they would lose themselves into that dense woods. And he probably succeeded because neither Emily or Derek knew where they really were.

"Dammit!" Emily let out as she scanned their surroundings. As she closed her eyes, she felt a hands on her arm.

"Look, there's a cabin! Maybe this is where the UnSub is keeping his victims." Morgan elaborated.

They headed carefully to the cabin, guns drawn. They reached the one room wooden construction and cast a glance through the only window. It was dark inside. They couldn't tell if there was someone or no. They went around, both backing each other up. They came back to the door and stood at each side of it, guns lowered to the ground. Morgan made a sign to Emily that he would go in first. The brunette nodded as the dark skinned agent slowly turned the knob.

Morgan swung open the door and burst in, pointing his gun in every corner of the room. Prentiss rapidly followed him behind, mimicking her partner and shone her light everywhere. The room was clear.

"There's nothing here!" Prentiss exclaimed disappointed.

Just as she spoke, a muffled scream echoed in the woods. Prentiss turned to the door and rushed out. Another noise suddenly stopped her cold. This time it was located behind them. Then another, and another. The noise seemed to be everywhere at once. She turned around with her flashlight but saw nothing. And then nothing. Silence. Too silent.

"Morgan?" She called out but got no answer back. "Morgan!" She repeated again, louder this time. But the male profiler didn't respond back. She turned around in the cabin looking for her partner. Something from the corner of her eye caught her attention. One of the wooden beam had been removed from the back wall. She widened her eyes as she understood what just happened. They had walked straight into the suspect's trap. "Fuck!" She cursed as she ran out the room and went to the back of the cabin. She shone her light in any direction to see if her partner was somewhere in sight. "Morgan?" She yelled, voice filled with concern.

The same muffled scream she'd heard before caught her attention back. She rushed in the direction of the voice, gun pointed straight in front of her.

If it had been daylight, she would be running. But it was the middle of the night and it was dark as hell, so she contented herself to walk as fast as she could. She slowed her pace as a dark figure appeared on the ground. She couldn't really see whom it was, so she kept her gun leveled up until she was finally able to make out the figure. She lowered her gun but didn't holster it back. She knelt down and took a look at the inanimate body. As she turned it to see the face, she gasped.

"Oh no, Paige." Few words escaped her mouth as she positioned her hand under the blonde's back. Her eyes widened as she felt a warmth thick liquid between her fingers. She slowly turned Paige's still body and shone her light onto her back. Blood. She had a bullet wound in the back. Emily took her pulse and released a breath when she found one. It was weak, but she was still alive. She put pressure on her bloody wound with her free hand.

She was about to take her phone out of her pocket but for this she had to drop her weapon. Morgan was missing and Paige was bleeding to death. She thought a second. She finally drop her gun on the ground and went to pick her phone into her back pocket. She hit one of her speed dial but before she could say anything, her eyes were suddenly drawn to the dark form who just had stolen her glock. She didn't know how he did it but her gun was between his hands now.

A voice echoed. "Prentiss?" It was Hotch's voice on the other end of the phone. Emily didn't respond. For a moment nothing seemed to happen. The brunette was both angry and stunned as she saw who was threatening her with her own weapon.

"You..." She raised her hands as if she surrendered and stood up, without keeping her eyes off of him, of the gun. "Okay, easy. It doesn't have to end this way." She spoke louder than she had to, because she knew Hotch was still on the line. He was listening. The opponent grinned and lowered his eyes to Emily's phone. His look went back on Prentiss as his grin widened. He positioned her gun straight toward her and tightened his finger on the trigger. Emily's eyes just had the time to widen as a shot was fired.

* * *

**(Emily's place)**

"So Garcia, are you gonna tell me why you brought your makeup here?" She said with a light chuckle.

"You know this eyeshadow color would look really good on you!" She avoided Emily's question. As Penelope neared the powder to her face, she raised her hand in front of her face to block the blonde from applying makeup on her. Garcia ignored her. "Let me do this for you! This is my way to..." Emily lowered her arm as she saw the tears in her friend's eyes.

"Okay. But nothing too extravagant. I don't want to look like a clown." She quipped, as Garcia started to apply the dark powder. "I guess you've seen Morgan since I last saw him. How is he?" Garcia didn't respond, focused. "Garcia?"

"Voilà!" She exclaimed. "You're perfect!" She removed a raven lock from Emily's face and smiled.

"Have you listened a word of what I said?" Emily asked her but didn't get any response. She really started to be tired of this situation. "Do you know Morgan tried to hit on me last time we saw?'' She tried to catch her attention, which seemed to work. Penelope narrowed her eyes, though she didn't say anything. Emily thought she was waiting for more. She wondered if this was a good thing to talk about with her. ''Well we both had drank so it was probably just the alcohol talking but..'' She paused, hesitating to speak. ''... But if he'd ask me out, I think I wouldn't say no.'' Garcia's smile widened a little too much. ''But that doesn't mean anything! It was just those 'if' possibilities.''

''I really don't know what I'm going to do without you.'' Penelope said, out of matter. Emily rolled her eyes. She was sick of these weird comments from her friends.

''What are you talking about? I'm really sick of this! Guys, I'm here! Penelope, look at me. Why do you think I would leave? Why do you all think I am going to leave. I am not going anywhere, okay? You hear me?'' Her words were determined, but something in her voice seemed broke.

Garcia sat still watching Emily a moment as her smile disappeared. "I just can't forget what the doctor told us. It was like if everything had slowed. No, had stopped. It was as if nothing mattered anymore. When he told us that your heart had stopped beating I... Everything collapsed. I don't even remember everything he's said, but one thing that hit me hard was when he told us the time of your death. Those deathly magical words were out there and couldn't be taken back. I really was mad at you first. You let us down. But now, I just wish you were here with us again. You've struggled for you life for five damn hours, Emily! Five hours! And death just swept away all the fight you'd pulled to live another day." Few tears spilled down her cheeks. She removed her glasses and cleaned them with a little piece of velvet-kind-of tissue. "That makeup really looks good on you. I didn't want people to see you like that. I know you're not the kind of person to show its weaknesses. Now, you look gorgeous just like that! You had to look good for this..." Penelope leaned down and delicately laid a kiss onto Emily's forehead and slowly walked away from where the brunette was.

She'd tried to protest. To tell her she was wrong. That she wasn't really dead. It couldn't be true. She was here, right next to her. "What are you talking about? Look at me! Penelope, look at me! Why aren't you answering me?" Her voice echoed in a loud scream, yet nobody seemed to hear her. She didn't really understand what was happening.

She hadn't even notice the sudden presence of new people. Her friends were there. When had they all arrived? "Please. Somebody, look at me..." Her words came out so weakly she barely recognized her own voice. She couldn't help the tears to spill from her eyes. No, not tears. Blood dripped out from her face.

Everything quickly faded away. People had vanished, as the darkness seemed set in. Blood welled up from her face, from her arms. Her entire body was soaked in a crimson substance. Panic took over her as she let out a shriek. Pain, she felt an excruciating pain. She cast a glance at herself. Open cuts and bruises covered her body. She could see her own bone hanging out of her elbow. She lowered her eyes to her legs. One of them was contorted in a way that made Emily winced, both from the disgusting image and pain.

There was this throbbing thump in her head or was it just the former beating of a heart that was once hers.

She wanted to leave this place. She was scared, cold and in pain. She wanted her friends and family back. She wanted her life back. Was it too late already?

**_*Present day*_**

_" God left me for dead_

_I've been turning my head_

_Away from the living_

_The time has come_

_To gamble for gain_

_To tear down the gate_

_And see what's inside."_

**-Another angel down, Avantasia.**

* * *

**My my! What a chapter, huh? Just so you know the last quote is from Avantasia, a metal group. I love the lyrics of their songs. So what are you thinking now? I know you were supposed to know who the suspect is but I decided to leave it for the next chapter. Though I've left a lot of clues to figure who it was! I mean it's a little bit evident, no? Now you do know a part of what happened to Emily, but I kept the best for the next! :)**

**For those who read my other story 'The prisoners' game', I will update a new chapter, hopefully soon. I am really sorry, I'm having a massive case of writer's block to write the team interaction part.**

**And 'There's an end for every story' will be updated either tomorrow or Tuesday!**

**All mistakes were my own.**

**You can leave your comment or share your opinion now! :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Lights! Camera! Action!**

**You can hate me, I'd totally understand if you do. Things have been crazy lately but I'm back and you will finally know what happened to Emily! Okay I'll let you read now...**

**Chapter 7**

* * *

_***Present day***__ "__I've let you down when you needed me the most. How will I ever be able to forgive myself for what happened to you?__"_

Slowly, his mind crawled out of darkness. Derek moved his hand up to his throbbing head and tried to rub the dizziness away. He struggled to get up, his body too stubborn to obey him. He plopped back down as a feeling of nausea overtook him. He mumbled few swearing under his breath for not being able to stand properly. He leaned his palm against a tree to help him up, he teetered a little but managed to keep himself up.

Derek took a look at his surroundings. He remembered he'd came with Prentiss, and that they'd walked to a one-room cabin, then he had been knocked unconscious. Derek quickly spotted the cabin few meters away.

"Prentiss?" He called for his partner without getting any response in return. The woods were too silent.

Derek couldn't shake the uneasy feeling off of his head. He headed back to the cabin and took a look inside and out. No sign of Prentiss nor the suspect. Had the suspect also knocked her unconscious somewhere in these woods? He tried to call her name few more times but, only wind brushing through leaves responded him back. Derek instinctively reached for his belt, and touch his glock then his cell phone. He snapped it off of his belt and glanced at it. No signal. Just as Morgan pocketed his phone back, he heard a detonation echoing through the eerie calm of the woods. A moment later he had completely recovered from his blow at the head and was running as fast as he could in the direction of the sudden noise. He shouted his friend's name a couple of times during his run, but again no one answered back.

A speck of bright white from the corner of his eye caught his attention and he snapped his head to the left to see what it was. He first thought of a flashlight, but as he walked closer, he noticed the light came from a phone screen. Emily's phone. Just as he took the phone, he saw it. A woman laying on the ground still. He closed his eyes as his first thought was Emily, but Derek leaned closer and noticed the blonde locks covering the woman's face. He breathed a slight sigh of relief, though he wasn't less worried. Emily was still out of sight.

His attention was drawn back to the phone in his hands as he heard a voice sounding through the device. He brought it to his ear and immediately recognized the voice.

"Hotch?"

"Derek?" Hotch's voice echoed in his ear. "What happened? Is Prentiss okay?"

"I don't know, she's not with me." He paused and leaned down to place two fingers on the blonde's neck. "I got Paige and I think she got shot."

"Is she alive?"

"Yes, but barely. Hotch, you gotta hurry man, that son of a bitch knocked me out and I can't find Prentiss."

"We're on our way, Morgan. Keep looking for Prentiss, she might not be very far from you."

"Got you, Hotch!"

As he went to pocket Prentiss's phone back, he felt his own buzzing. He snapped it off and checked the screen. Garcia. He pushed a button and answered her, "Baby Girl, I'm sorry but it's not a very good time right now!"

"Oh thank god, you're alive!" She greeted him back. "What have you been thinking Derek Morgan? I've been trying to reach you for an half hour and the only thing I had was this little red dot on your gps's vehicle. I couldn't even track your phone! What happened? Are you with Emily?"

Morgan squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. He ran his hand on his bald scalp and said, "feeling better?" When he heard her answering by the positive, he resumed, "It was probably one of these dead spots." He paused again as he took another look around. "Listen, I'm fine, but something happened and... I have to find her." He knew Garcia wanted to know more but she also knew his time was counted. She asked him to bring her back home as he promised her, "I will, Baby Girl. I will."

No he wouldn't. He didn't knew it at that time. He couldn't. The case was bad enough, but he wasn't prepared for what was about to come.

He kneeled down next to Paige's body to check her pulse again. She was fine. He rose his head and stared into the darkness, as if Emily would miraculously appear in front of him. He knew he couldn't leave that girl alone, but he would never forgive himself if anything happened to Emily. He was torn between making sure the girl was alive and safe or looking for his partner and saving her.

The decision was taken pretty fast when a whimper coming from a familiar voice echoed to his ears. Standing up, he turned trying to figure where the sound had come from. Those damn wood could be tricky when it came to locate a noise. Was it on his left or right?

"Emily?!" He shouted as loud as he could and waited for an answer.

He heard his name being called in a high-pitched scream and decided to leave the girl to go rescue his partner. He still wasn't sure where the shriek had come from and had to call her several times as her voice guided him through the dense wood.

He stopped his run abruptly when he saw a man, who had his back turned from him and had a firm grip on his colleague. He carefully unholstered his glock and trained it towards the UnSub.

"It's over! Let her go or I'll shoot!" He said with anger and determination.

The man turned around, revealing his face. Morgan dropped his weapon to the man's knees and stared him in complete awe. His eyes then wandered to Emily and he noticed that one of her arm was soaked in blood.

"Prentiss!" He called her worriedly as his gaze wandered to her arm to her eyes.

"Another step and she's dead!" The barrel of the gun firmly pressed against Emily's temple.

Morgan aimed his weapon at the man in front of him. "It's over Richardson! Drop your weapon!" The profiler said with a voice filled with both anger and fear. "Are you okay?" His gaze directed to his partner.

"Yeah" she breathed. Her widened eyes bore into his look and subtly nodded her head as if to give him the approbation to make a move.

As Morgan took a step forward, Richardson took two step backwards. "You really want her dead, do you?!" Richardson spat angrily. "I knew I should've knocked you harder, that would have given me the time to take care of that bitch!" He lowered the gun to Prentiss injured arm and pressed the barrel against her wound. The brunette winced in pain and couldn't help but let out a groan at the painful contact.

Morgan watched the scene as he felt his blood boiling under his skin. He moved forward, his gun aimed still at the detective. He really had to keep his things together to not put a bullet into the man's head but, the possibility that he could also hurt his friend prevented him from doing it. He watched as Richardson took a few steps back again and shot few looks behind him. A grin appeared on the detective's face and made Morgan frowned incredulously. It took few seconds for the profiler to understand why Richardson suddenly seemed more confident. He wasn't about to shoot her, no. The detective had a better idea, and Derek knew he wouldn't surrender. Behind them was a ravine, and a deep one. Morgan widened his eyes understanding what Richardson intended to do.

"Don't do that, Bill!" He shouted threateningly as fear crossed his gaze at the possibility of losing his partner.

* * *

Prentiss struggled against the detective's hold and tried to see why Morgan suddenly seemed scared. She turned her head the most she could and saw the reason why Morgan was so tense, a ravine. One that she was dangerously too close to. Only a few steps back and they would both fall.

She looked up at Morgan and waited as if she wanted him to do something. She didn't want to break eye contact with him, it secured her somehow. She watched her partner slowly moving forward towards them, gun aimed at their direction. Her heartbeat seemed to increase as she dangerously approached the edge.

Prentiss knew Morgan couldn't fire his weapon as long as he didn't have a clear shot but, she also knew that if no move was made in the next seconds, she would be falling off that ravine.

"Do it, Morgan!" She said at her partner.

"I can't do that! I can't."

Richardson hide himself behind Prentiss to prevent an attempt of being shot by Morgan. Emily positioned her body, ready for what would come.

"DO IT, MORGAN!" She repeated in a shout.

* * *

Unwillingly, Morgan tightened his finger around the trigger and fired. The blast deafened him few seconds as he watched the trajectory of the bullet. The small projectile perforated through Emily's chest before lodging into Richardson's.

The impact made them backed away dangerously towards the ravine. Bill's foot stumbled upon a root and found himself flying backwards. He dragged the brunette with him in his fall. Morgan, in view of the horrible that was happening before his eyes, hurried to catch her. Too late. She was falling freely. Branches and roots scratched and bruised her body as she rolled uncontrollably deeper into the ravine.

Morgan let out a scream as he stretched out his hand for Emily. Devastation filled him and for a moment he didn't know what to do. He had made a mistake. He should've done something else. It was his fault. He watched as his friend's body connected several times with hard surfaces. He felt his pulse raged at his temples as his face was froze in awe.

"What have I done..."

* * *

She wanted to scream but no sound escaped her. Her left side took the shock of the landing. As her feet connected with the uneven field, the pressure was too much and she felt her kneecap exploded sending an excruciating pain through her leg. And if it wasn't enough, she landed hard on the side Morgan had shot her.

It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Something must've gone wrong. Morgan missed the shot. Otherwise, Richardson would've been instantly dead, but she couldn't be mad at him. She didn't have the strength to be.

Everything around her came to her hears into distorted sounds, as shapes were only a vague blur to her eyes. The unbearable pain enfolded her being into an uneasy and familiar sensation. The feeling you felt when life was sucked out of your own body. Then the cold that wrapped her, sent uncontrollable shivers through her limbs, though she wasn't moving. She lay still on her back, as she fought all her might to keep her eyes open.

The concussion she'd earned from her fall win over her as Emily slowly let her mind waltzed into darkness land...

* * *

**Ah! Sorry couldn't help myself to stop on a cliffhanger. At least you know what happened to Emily, I mean the accident. What's going to happen after? Guess you'll have to wait the next chapter, which is already in writing progress so it shouldn't take too long!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Lights! Camera! Action!**

**I am sorry for the late update...again. I have so much to do and to think that I forgot to update. It's a short one, but I wanted to update something now. Also thank you to everyone who's still reading and have reviewed, favorited. Happy reading!**

**Chapter 8**

**_Present day_**_ "In your hearts, I will always be loved. In your heads, I will always be remembered."_

* * *

Adjusting his black tie, Derek threw a glance at himself into the mirror. Dark rings under his eyes, from the lack of sleep, were even more apparent this morning. All glimpse of joy that used to be in his eyes had vanished. He starred at his emotionless face before letting out a weak sigh.

A knock at the door broke him out of his thoughts. He turned his head towards the door that was already opening. A blonde haired woman poked her head inside and seemed to wait for the dark skinned profiler to invite her in the room. Derek didn't flinch, his gaze back on his reflection instead. He heard the door shut and steps coming towards him.

"Derek"

His eyes met hers through the mirror reflection. He didn't know what to say, how to feel. He attempted to move his hand over hers but it was futile. Stricken by everything that had happened the past few days, he didn't notice that she had taken hold of his hand.

"Penelope"

He wasn't surprised that she was here with them and he truly appreciated her presence, though it was hard for her to notice behind his stone face. Garcia broke the glance and made him turn to face her. He bore his eyes into hers as she took him into a friendly embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed his eyes shut.

"Derek, please say something."

The worry in Garcia's voice didn't go unnoticed by the profiler. He had spent the last three days thinking about the tragic events, that had killed two persons, over and over in his head. But all he could think of was how everything was his fault.

"I shot her," he answered as she stretched her arms to look at him. "I shot her."

"You had no choice. You had to do it."

"Did I, really? It shouldn't have happened." He knew she was trying her best to cheer him up, but it wasn't that easy when she was as devastated as he was.

"You're right! It shouldn't have happened. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't have done anything. At least you attempted something, you tried..."

Morgan pulled apart form her embrace a little too harshly than what he intended to and walked up to the only window in the room.

"That's the problem, Penelope!" He didn't mean to yell at her, she knew it. "I tried. I tried and failed. I failed her... I failed, Penelope. I..."

He saw the sadness in her eyes, and couldn't help but feel guilty once again. Garcia reached him within few steps and laid her hand over his shoulder. Both remained silent for a moment, unsure what could possibly break this sad silence. A faint smile escaped his lips as the blonde softly cupped his chin and leaned her forehead against his.

"You know she'd be proud of you."

"Would she? I thought I've made the right choice, and look what happened. Look at how we're dressed and where we're going. This didn't end up as it should have had.

Once more, Penelope pulled him into an embrace. "Are you ready?" She asked just as she pulled apart from him.

He took a look at her, the way she was dressed. Black dress with a V cleavage, black high heels that revealed the red polish of her toes. The only jewel she was wearing was a simple gold chain with a little angel as medallion Garcia would usually wear something flashy in her hair but on this occasion, only a simple purple headband was dissimulated under her curly red bangs. He took that moment to look at her, and raised his eyes to mentally thank God to have a friend like her at his side at a time like this.

"I think I am." He said, but his uncertainty betrayed him.

She started to walk up the door. "The others are already there." She turned and tilted her head, seeing he wasn't moving. "You know, she would want you there and she'll probably be there as well; Maybe not physically, but she'll definitely be there. I know she will." She'd spoken her last words more as to convince herself than to inform her friend.

It was there second attend to a funeral this year. It hadn't been easy the first time and it was no difference for this one too. When they were at Haley's funeral, they all had reconsidered themselves, mostly Hotch. But now it wasn't about reconsidering, it was about all those 'what if' that didn't happen but could have made a difference, a better difference.

Derek made his way to his best friend, as they both left the room to join the rest of the team at the cemetery.

* * *

"We are gathered here to say farewell to..."

The priest' words floated in Derek's head in a vague murmur. He let his gaze wandered to the coffin in front of him to the person next to him. Someone next to him took hold of his hand, breaking him out of his thoughts; Garcia.

"... In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

Few looks were exchanged as her name was called by the priest. Tears swam in JJ's eyes and Penelope's. Hotch and Rossi kept their head bowed, trying to keep their composure. Morgan took a look at Reid next to him. The genius seemed completely lost in his thoughts.

Derek raised his head and closed his eyes, filling his mind of the memory of his partner's face. The words of the priest brought him back to earth,

"... From dust you came, to dust you shall return. Jesus Christ, our savior, shall raise you up on the last day..."

He watched the priest making the sign of the cross and people starting to make their way to say their farewells. He hesitated to walk up to her coffin, feeling the guilt boiling in his veins. Just as the answer he was looking for, Garcia laid her hand on his shoulder, and gave him a wan smile.

Derek walked up to the coffin then stopped, and lowered his head. Eyes closed, he recited a prayer in his head. He opened his eyes and drew a sigh. "I'm so sorry." He mumbled to himself and walked away.

He wandered between the gravestones, hands in his black jacket. The minutes passed and the only think he could think of was how bad he wished he could be by his partner's side right now. He wanted to see her and to hear her voice again. He started to remember the first time they'd met and how they were quickly introduced to each other by Hotch. That one time when Emily had been surprised that he enjoyed reading Kurt Vonnegut and then told him she was a little bit nerdy from time to time. They had bounded a really strong friendship over these three years working together, but then the memories of the recent events filled his mind for the hundredth time today.

He raised his head, suddenly stopping his flashbacks and noticed almost everyone had left. He went back to where the ceremony had just end up fifteen minutes ago, and he looked at the grave stone, stroking it with the tip of his fingers. He squeezed his eyes shut, refraining some tears and breathed calmly. When he opened his eyes, he saw the team a little further on the road, ready to leave.

Derek joined them and shared embraces with his colleagues. It felt good to be surrounded by them, his friends. He wasn't alone in this and knew he could always talk to one of them.

* * *

The sun had started its descent on the west horizon, coloring the few clouds of a pale red. Even if everyone had left, Derek wanted to stay a little longer with Emily. He didn't want to imagine his life without her. He couldn't.

"I'm so sorry." Tears welled up in his eyes, but he didn't care. "I've made a mistake and I don't know what to do anymore." He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to find the right words to say. "How am I gonna get through this, if you're not there with me? How am I gonna do without you?"

Derek took a deep breath and stared at the written name. He ran his fingers along each letter E-M-I-L-Y. "I need you Emily. I need you back." Few tears welled up in his eyes, blurring his vision. ''Please, come back...''

* * *

**I just wanted to make sure that any hope you still had about Emily being alive were all crushed. I am mean, yeah! But you know there is a reason why I wrote this that way...**

**Now I can't promise you when I'll update next, but I will update it as soon as I can.**

**Reviews are welcome! So, tell me what you think of the story so far.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Lights! Camera! Action!**

**Last chapter was unfortunately not a dream. Sorry :( . But it was still in the past and since now you know pretty much what happened, now it is time to let you know what is going to happen next. I am really excited for you to read this chapter. Last was short and this one is also very short. I updated as fast as I could. I didn't notice until now that this story was going to be pretty dark, but I hope you're enjoying it! Happy reading!**

**Chapter 9**

_***PRESENT DAY***_

A week had passed since the funerals. Considering the prior events, Strauss had given them the week off. JJ spent her few days off with her boys, cherishing all the moments. She'd tried her best to feel like everything was back to normal, but she wasn't as good as Emily to compartmentalize. Every little moment she'd found herself alone, she thought about her. It was hard not to. Sometimes, she'd surprised herself crying alone in her bathroom under the sound of the water filling up her bathtub. A week had passed, and they were all about to go back to work tomorrow morning. Well, not all of them. Someone would be missing. Emily wouldn't be among them. When she slipped under her blankets and let herself wrapped in Will's arms, her phone buzzed, forcing herself to get up. As she glanced the ID caller, a frown appeared on her face.

"Jarreau." She listened to the voice on the other side before adding, "I'm on my way."

Reid had spent his few days, burying his head in books and movies. All the ones that reminded him of her. Her favorites, the ones they'd watched together, even those he heard her talked about. Garcia had came over few times to see how he was doing. She had tried to change his mind a little, but even her was completely submerged by memories of Emily. A week had passed since the funeral, and neither Spencer or Penelope knew how tomorrow would be like; Without Emily, for sure. Just as Penelope was getting ready to leave Reid's appartment, her phone rang. When Spencer saw her incredulous face he went to check the ID caller, but few seconds later his phone buzzed as well and understood why his friend had made that face.

"...We'll be there asap!" They said in unison before hanging their phone.

Rossi had decided to get back to writing. With everything that had happened for the past week, he needed to get it all off his chest. He had locked himself into his manor, and only went out to visit Hotch in the middle of the week. The dark haired supervisor had called him from his office to talk about what he should do now that the case was over. Not that he needed any help to fill in his reports, but he did need some advice from a friend. Other than his quick visit to Hotch, Rossi had stayed at his place, writing. A week had passed since the funerals, and tomorrow he would have to go back to work. He knew that at the time, everyone else was probably thinking about how tomorrow would be. Everyone, but Emily. Rossi walked up to his table where the bottle of scotch was and poured himself a drink. When he got back to his computer his phone rang. Checking the ID caller, he stared at it few seconds before answering,

"Hello..." As he listened, his frown got deeper. "I'm on my way."

Hotch had spent most of his time with his son. But he had decided to go to his office on Wednesday, finalizing his latest case's report. He couldn't bring himself to finish it though. What was he supposed to do with all this? Normally, he wouldn't even have to ask himself that question. But the situation was different here, was it? His judgement was too affected and he couldn't think clearly. A part of him wanted to blame Morgan, but the other part knew that Morgan wasn't the one to blame. At least not for everything. He needed someone who would enlightened his thoughts. So he picked the phone and dialed Rossi's number. They had talked about different possibilities, but in Hotch's head the decision was taken. He would get Morgan transferred to the New York FBI Field Office. He stayed with his son the rest of the week. Now a week had passed since the funerals and tomorrow everyone would get back to their life. Everyone but Emily. Just as he left his son's bedroom, his cell phone buzzed in his pocket. A worried frowned appeared as he looked the ID screen.

"...Yes, this is agent Hotchner..." The voice spoke few seconds then Hotch squeezed his eyes shut before adding, "I'll be there in 20."

Tormented by nightmares, Morgan had barely slept. That week was supposed to be for rest and recuperation, but not for him. His friends had called several times to check up on him, but he hadn't answered. He didn't want to be bothered. He wished he could see her eyes again, her smile. He wished he could hear her voice once more. Wiping the few tears he had in the corner of his eyes, Derek unfolded a paper and read it for the hundredth time since the funerals:

_Emily,_

_When I first met you, I didn't know how much you would mean to me. I didn't know how close I would get to you. I didn't know. If I could undone what I can I would, but I can't. I can only hope that this was just a big nightmare. I can only hope that I will wake up and see you at work like it used to be._

_I don't know if I'll stop blaming myself for what happened to you one day. I don't know if I'll be able to. Nothing will ever be normal again without you. So I can only hope that I just imagined all this and that everything is fine. That you'll be okay. I want you be okay, more than anything. So please, be okay. I am begging you. You shouldn't be the one paying for my mistakes._

_Just tell me that you're okay._

He traced her letter's name with his finger again, E-M-I-L-Y, and folded the paper before hiding it under the pillow.

A week had passed since the funerals and it had been a living hell for Derek, but tomorrow he would have to go back to work. They would have another case where they would have to save other persons, like they always do. But Emily hadn't been saved. He knew he had to get some sleep if he didn't want to look like a zombie tomorrow, but he was too overwhelmed by his thoughts. The ring of his phone broke him out of his thoughts and he stretched his arm to take it. He shot up from his bed as he saw who was calling.

"Agent Morgan..." Derek barely listened to the voice on the other side until he heard those three little words he had been waiting for, 'she woke up'...

* * *

**And cut! What just happened? Could it be?... I updated a lot faster than usual, but I think it's also the shortest chapter I've ever written. I can't tell the next one will be up as fast, though. I can tell you that there will be some good news, but mostly...there will be bad news. I hope you enjoyed and I'd love to know what you thought!**

**I am working on the Prisoners' game chapter. I will try to update it this week or next!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Lights! Camera! Action!**

**Guess who's back! I know I take time to update. I have a lot of exams and working full-time doesn't help to find time to write. So there you have it, another chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 10

_Derek barely listened to the voice on the other side until he heard those three little words he had been waiting for, 'she woke up'..._

Did he hear it well? Did he just hear what he had desperately craved to hear since the past week? Too submerged with hopes and feelings, he missed to hear the rest of the conversation. The voice calling his name at the end of the receiver broke him out of his thoughts.

"Huh, yeah! I'm coming right away!" Morgan hung up his phone without leaving the time for his interlocutor to add anything.

He didn't bother changing his clothes or take a shower and rushed out of his house in a black T-shirt and grey sweat pants.

On the road, he drove over the speed limit and nearly burned a red light. He was impatient to get there, but he also didn't want to have an accident. He'd dreamed of this moment many times but every time he would wake up, he would find that it was just another dream. He knew he was awake right now but the thought that he could be dreaming this was enough to make him hit the gas pedal.

Arrived at his destination he rushed in the building, walked past the reception office, already knowing where he was going.

He stopped, a couple of paces from the room, when he noticed the figure of his team leader on the threshold. He seemed to be speaking with someone but he couldn't see who it was. Derek took few steps until he could answer his own question. JJ. Hotch was speaking with JJ. He studied their face a moment but neither of them seemed sad nor happy. What was he supposed to think? He wasn't in a mood to speak to anyone but her but if he wanted to do that, he'll need to talk to his other colleagues first.

He took back his walk and as soon as JJ noticed him, she smiled. A genuine smile. As he saw the blonde's expression, something seemed to be lifted off his shoulders and he smiled back at her.

Hotch directed his head where JJ was looking at. Derek perceived a barely visible smile coming from his boss.

"Morgan."

"Did you see her? How is she?" He asked, brows furrowed.

"Why don't you ask her yourself." JJ responded and pointed to a bed in the room. The blonde stepped out to let Morgan in.

"We'll leave you two alone a moment." Hotch added before he and JJ walked away to a row of chairs in the hall.

Morgan paced further into the room and glanced at the brunette lying on the bed. He had replayed this moment over and over for the past few days, but right now he was completely wordless. He had no idea what to say to her. He took a deep breath and walked up to the chair next to the bed.

''Hey princess, did you sleep well?'' He smiled, flirt-ish expression on his face.

'Derek Morgan, what the hell is wrong with you!' He mentally slapped himself in the face.

She stared at him with a frown before bursting out laughing. Of all the things he could have said to her, she didn't have expected that. She tried to calm herself, feeling some pain in her bruised ribs.

"Seriously?" Emily kept staring at him, clearly amused by how embarrassed he looked.

"I mean, how are you feeling?" He eased up in the seat and smiled at her, feeling more comforted because of her reaction.

"Huh, I'm fine!" She lied. She tried not to think too much about it. Nothing was official yet. There was nothing to worry about for now. The doctor had said the results would come out tomorrow. He had also suggested that she should tell her friends or at least someone close to her, but she'd refused.

_"I know it can be scary to not know, but we should have the results by tomorrow morning." The doctor said while taking her vital signs. "Maybe having a friend with you..."_

_"I don't want them to know. There's nothing to tell them anyway." She cut him off. "Like you said, we don't have the results yet." A part of her didn't want to believe that possibility. It couldn't happen. Not to her._

_"I won't tell them either if you don't want to. But they'll find out, eventually. But you're right, we don't have the results yet, therefore there is nothing to tell for the moment." The doctor walked to the door and turned his head in her direction. "But I think you shouldn't be dealing with this alone." He added before leaving her room._

Morgan shot up from his seat and went to the bed. He grabbed her hand and squeezed it.

"I'm sorry."

She looked away from him and squeezed her eyes shut. "Don't." She removed her hand from his grip. "There was nothing else you could have done to stop this." She didn't dare to turn her head and look him in his eyes. She knew how he felt and to look at him would be like a stab to the heart. She made him pull his trigger. She didn't give him the choice. It was **her** fault, not his.

Morgan sighed deeply. He ran his hand in her hair and kissed the top of her head. "I'm just glad that you're alive." He had so much to say but she obviously wasn't ready to talk about it just yet. For now he would just be with her, hold her hand and comfort her the best he could. He didn't want her to shut him out, she would come to him when she'd be ready. He knew Emily wasn't the kind of person to ask for help, but he hoped that this time she would trust him enough to let him help her.

A knock at the door made them both startled.

"I hope I'm not interrupting anything?"

"No Garcia, you're not." Prentiss answered with a smile. "You can come in."

The perky blonde analyst made her way into the room and stopped next to where Morgan was. "Good, 'cause I would've walk in anyway. Do you know how long and stressful it was knowing that you might not wake up ever? And there was nothing we could do except watching you and..."

Morgan lifted his hands in front of him. "Oh slow down Baby Girl, breath."

Garcia breathed deeply and shot a _what-was-I-saying_ look at Derek before exclaiming, "Oh yeah, right! You scared the hell out of me, Emily! Why is it always you that gets hurt, huh? Aren't you tired of getting shot and stab and hit by truck and beat up and what do I forget?"

"I was hit by a wood board once." She added with a sarcastic tone.

"That was not the question." The blonde analyst said with an annoyed and worried voice at once.

"I know, I'm sorry. I just can't help it, bad situations seem to love me."

A little silence settled as the three agents were each remembering different moments where Prentiss got injured in the field. Yes, bad situations really seemed to love her. The brunette was glad to have them with her. She wished she could tell them what worried her, but she didn't want to accept that possibility. If she told them, that would be accepting it and she wasn't ready to do just that.

Someone scrapping its throat, made them turned to the sudden noise. Spencer was standing on the threshold, holding a large coffee. Hesitant, he walked in. The corner of his mouth curled up in a light smile. He shared a look of relieve with Morgan and Garcia before setting his eyes back on Emily.

"Hey"

"Hey, Spencer." Emily smiled and waved at him to come closer. "It's good to see you."

"Likewise. How are you?" Stupid question, Spencer. Even if she wasn't, she would tell him that she's fine. Of all the times she got hurt, he didn't recall her saying that she wasn't fine. And the look on her face was telling him right.

"I think I'm going to go grab a sandwich down there." Morgan announced as he saw Rossi making his way into the room. "You coming, Garcia?" He grabbed her arm, inviting her out of the room with him.

"What? No, I don't want to leave her just yet."

"It's okay, Garcia. I am not going anywhere soon. I'll be here when you come back." Emily lightly chuckled at Garcia's reaction.

As Morgan made his way out accompanied with a reluctant Garcia, Rossi stepped closer to her bed. The team visited her at different turns until visit time was over. She was glad they were there with her. They almost made her forget to worry about what would come tomorrow. Even if they didn't know, they made her temporarily forget and she was thankful for this. But now that they were all gone, back to their respective house, she was left alone with her worries. She tried to find some sleep but anxiety was gnawing her inside out.

In the middle of the night, a nurse came in her room to check if everything was alright and when she noticed Emily wasn't sleeping, she offered her to give her something that would help her sleep. Prentiss accepted without arguing. She wanted to sleep, to not think about it anymore. She fell asleep not long after the nurse walked out.

When she opened her eyes, she noticed it wasn't dark outside anymore. She turned her head to the clock hung on the wall, 9:43. The results. The doctor said she would have them tomorrow morning and it was tomorrow morning. The verdict, it should come at any moment now.

Her eyes shifted to the clock almost every two minutes. Feeling impatience growing inside her, she almost regretted it when she saw him walked into the room. He wasn't smiling. That wasn't good! That wasn't good at all. Emily felt a knot in her stomach. She was going to throw up. She tried to calm herself and took deep breaths.

"Good morning, Doctor." She said, not hiding her concern.

He nodded at her and went to check her vital signs. Why wasn't he saying anything? What was going on?

After making sure everything was alright, he placed himself at the end of the bed, facing his patient.

"I'm afraid I have bad news, Emily." ...

* * *

**And cut! Seemed like a good moment to stop. I wanted to give you a lighter chapter before going... down again. And I am going to be very harsh on Emily AND Derek. They will not have it easy. I can't promise when I will update again, but I'll try my best to get it done ASAP.**

**Thank you for subscribing, favorite and reviewing my story. It is always appreciated to know what you think about my story.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Lights! Camera! Action!**

**A new update almost a week apart from the last one! I told myself I would update Thursday, but my internet connection failed. I had to use my old laptop to update this new chapter.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 11

_After making sure everything was alright, he placed himself at the end of the bed, facing his patient._

_"I'm afraid I have bad news, Emily." ..._

Emily's heart pounded hard in her chest. Bad news? No, it couldn't be happening. As she breathed more rapidly, she began to hyperventilate. No, it couldn't be happening. Not to her. Her head started to spin. She couldn't focus her mind on anything, it was spinning too fast. The dizzying feeling was beginning to win over her, she shut her eyes and blinked few times. It didn't change anything. Her heart rate increased exponentially. Unable to keep her eyes open, she could still hear noises around her. Someone was shouting an order but she didn't understand what it was. Suddenly she lost all focus on the real world and fell unconscious.

A small light blinded her left eye and her right, then it was black again. She tried to lift her eyelids, but her attempt failed. A distorted voice echoed in her head. What was it saying? She took a moment to collect her spirits and tried once more to open her eyes. She started perceiving vague shapes moving around her. They looked like they were leaving the room. For a moment everything was silent, except for the noise coming from the E.C.G machine. Again a voice seemed to talk to her, she turned her head looking at whom it was.

"Emily?" Someone touched her shoulder. Her sight gradually came back to normal and she saw her doctor standing next to her.

"What? What happened?"

"You had a panic attack and you passed out." He informed her, keeping eye contact with her.

"I did?" Why had she? Oh! The results! That's why he was here and that was why she had passed out. Her heartbeat started to increase again.

"It's okay. Just take deep breaths. I'll give you something to help you with the anxiety." He went to the counter, close to the door, and opened one of the drawers. He plunged his hand in it and grabbed a little bottle filled with a liquid that looked a lot like water. He then searched for a syringe and came back to Emily's side. "This should help you." He said as he stuck the needle in the bottle cap and sucked the liquid out into the syringe. He gave a tiny flick and a few drops spilled out.

"That's not going to make me sleepy, is it!" She didn't want to sleep. Not right now. Not when he had the answer she didn't really want to hear, but had to.

"It might. You are still very weak, Emily. I will give you a small dose, if you really don't want to fall asleep. But if your heart keeps having an unstable frequency, I will have to give you a bigger dose." He waited, syringe ready to plant into one of her IV tube, for her to acknowledge what he said. She nodded and the doctor proceeded.

"Doctor, you said you had bad news?" She already regretted asking this question. She didn't want it to be true. She wasn't ready to deal with whatever would come, but she knew she had to hear it. She will have to at some point anyway. She bit her lower lip waiting after her doctor to answer, but the only thing he did was to sigh. Was it a sad sigh or an annoyed one? Oh, how bad she wished he was annoyed by her question. At least it would mean that there's nothing to worry about. But he'd said bad news and this meant that she had reasons to be worried. She just wasn't sure how bad she should be yet. Starting to get impatient, but mostly dead worried, she stuttered another question, ''Am I going to be okay?''

He looked her straight in the eyes, but didn't say a thing. He didn't want to lie, but he didn't want to panic her either. Even though a panic attack wouldn't kill someone, her heart wasn't strong enough to endure another one. She'd spent the last week in a coma and the injuries that she'd gotten from her fall were very serious. Was she going to be okay? Still staring at the brunette, he said, ''Eventually...'' He paused trying to think every word he wanted to say. ''You might be, but it depends on how much effort you want to make to get better and eventually be okay.''

Emily frowned. ''What does that mean? I don't understand. I _**might**_ be?'' She emphasized on the word might then took a pause to ponder. ''Is it that bad?'' She asked after a moment.

The doctor didn't answer, but instead he walked up to Emily's feet and pulled the blanket. He took his blue pencil in his pocket and with his other hand, grabbed Emily's left foot. He drew a line then looked at her. ''Did you feel this?'' Emily shook her head, worried. He repeated the same thing with her right foot. ''Now?'' Once more she shook her head. ''It was one of the thing I was most worried about.

Emily's eyes were wide open, staring at her feet. ''I... I...'' She didn't know how to form any sentence. Words hustled in her head. After a moment she finally managed to ask one question. ''Am I... going to... be able to... walk... again?'' She didn't want to look at him. She knew she would have the answer and she wasn't so sure anymore to want to know.

''The good news is that the paralysis doesn't seem to be permanent.''

''But I can't feel my legs?'' She tried to lift herself up in her bed but apparently her arms didn't want to cooperate either. She was still too weak, but at least she could move her arms, and he did say that her paralysis shouldn't be permanent. That seemed to bring a little hope in Emily's mind.

''You shouldn't try to move too much.'' He said when he saw what she was trying to do. ''For now the only thing you can do is to rest to gain more strength. As for your paralysis, it should be temporary. But...'' He took a deep breath and resumed, ''Don't expect to be walking again in six months. You have a lot of work to do to get there.''

She was more reassure now, she would be able to walk again. It might take some time, but Emily was ready to put as much effort as possible. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life in a wheelchair. The doctor's voice broke her out of her thoughts to ask her if she would want to meet the physiotherapist.

''Now?''

''No. But if you agree, I could set us a meeting with him and talk about starting a therapy. What do you say?'' He looked her, hopeful she would say yes. She was in a bad condition but she'd also had a second chance. Not a lot of people would have been as lucky as she was. He knew by the look that she had that she was a little bit in denial. The only thing that had probably stuck in her mind was that she would walk again, but that was not how it worked. Yes, she might be able to eventually but it wouldn't be without going through a very hard work.

''Yeah... Okay.'' Not all of the information had sunk in yet. The only thing Emily kept repeating in her head was _'paralysis not permanent'_. She'd never been in a situation like this before, therefore she couldn't know how hard it would be to have to learn to walk again. But that was a matter for another day. Right now the fatigue was starting to take her over. Was it the meds? ''I thought... I thought it wasn't supposed to make me sleepy?'' She stuttered half-conscious.

''I may have given you a bigger dose than what I told you. It's for your own good. You need to rest, Emily.'' The brunette nodded at what he said, but he knew she hadn't really listened. The drugs had kicked in, she would be asleep in a matter of minutes now. ''Sleep tight.''

''Goodnight, Doctor.'' It was barely audible but he did understand her. He smiled at her, even though she couldn't see him, and made his way out of the room.

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**No cliffhanger here. I think for the next two chapters it's going to be more about how Emily is dealing with her new condition and how the team will feel about it. Then the action will start again...**

**Next chapter will be from Derek's POV... but I was wondering if he should be the first to know about Emily? What do you think?**

**I'll try to get the next chapter done by Wednesday, otherwise next Saturday! Thank you for all the alerts and reviews!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Lights! Camera! Action! **

**Chapter 12 **

Emily jerked her eyes open and stared out the window. She frowned a little confused and as she turned around to take a look at the clock, she saw Morgan sat in a chair, eating a chocolate pudding.

"It's dark?" She said with a questioning tone.

"It's milk chocolate, actually." He answered taking a mouthful of his pudding, hiding a grin behind his spoon.

The brunette chuckled and rolled her eyes. "I meant outside."

"I know. I just wanted to see you smile." He put a sincere smile on his face as Emily returned it to him. "So, how are you feeling?" He put down the empty cup on the little table and grabbed the seat to bring it closer to the bed.

"Good, just a little tired." She yawned as if to prove what she was saying.

"You spent almost two weeks in a coma and you just woke up from a long rest, I understand why you're so tired." He tried to hide his grin but it didn't go unnoticed by the brunette. She gave him a little tap on his shoulder and just when he thought he made her angry, she burst out laughing. Her laugh warmed his heart at the point he thought it would melt. Never will he get tired of hearing her voice, her laugh, of seeing her smile. This woman fascinated him in so many ways. So strong and independent, yet so vulnerable and fragile right now.

A silence settled after they'd stopped laughing. Though she was still smiling, he noticed her face had turned more serious, until her smile disappeared completely leaving her face in a concerned expression. He took her hand and squeezed it between his. He knew she was trying to tell him something important but was hesitant. He tried giving her the more comfort he could to make her know she could trust him. She opened her mouth then closed it. She repeated it two or three more times but still she said nothing. Tears welled up in her eyes and Derek knew she was fighting to keep herself together. To reassure her, he cupped her cheek and softly stroke her cheek with his thumb.

"I can't." She whined, letting the tears fall freely on her cheeks. "I just- I can't."

Derek ran a hand in her raven hair, as the other was still holding her hand. "It's okay, Princess. You don't have to tell me if you're not ready." He gave her a little smile, but it didn't change anything. He didn't know what she wanted to say, but he knew she was internally struggling to tell him something. Her sudden emotional outburst was enough to prove him. "You see this?" He raised his hand, the one still holding hers, and shook it in front of her face. "I am not letting you go. I am not letting you down, Emily. Not this time. I am not losing you again. Do you understand? I will not give up on you."

A faint smile crept on the brunette's lips but quickly faded when more tears made their way down her face. "I can't... I can't feel my legs." Her gaze locked with his. Her bottom lip was trembling trying to hold in another sob.

He knew this eventuality but he'd decided to shove it in the back of his mind. His face froze in a worried expression trying to find the best words that would ease the atmosphere, but there wasn't much. "I'm..." No, being sorry should be the very last thing to say. "What did the doctor said?" Maybe there was hope. Maybe she would heal. The guilt grew bigger in his gut, as she explained what her doctor told her earlier. He tried hiding it the best he could. Right now it wasn't about him, it was about her. She needed him.

When she was done explaining, he rose from his chair and laid a delicate kiss on her forehead. He smiled as he pulled away. "It's gonna be fine, Emily. The doctor said it was just temporary. That's good news!" As he went to sit back in the chair, Prentiss grabbed his arm making him stop in his process. "What?"

She stared at him a moment, biting her lower lip. "No, nothing. It's stupid." She let go of his arm and looked away.

Curious, he stepped closer and cupped her chin, making her look at him. "C'mon, Princess! You know you can tell me anything." He pushed a lock of hair from her face and waited after what she wanted to tell him.

"I shouldn't ask you this, it's..." Derek listened her carefully and neared, the more he could, to the bed. "I... Can you hold me?" He hesitated a second, caught off guard, then his face lit up in a bright smile.

He lay on the bed, next to her and wrapped her in his arm. "Better?" He couldn't see her smiling but he knew she was. Anything to make her smile, and make her forget her tears.

"Much better!" She said, resting her head on his chest and inhaled a full breath of his cologne. She closed her eyes, enjoying the scent. Enjoying his presence close to her. Very close... She suddenly lifted her head to look at him. "You know, it's nothing. I just... You know, need a little comfort." Though she truly liked his presence close to her, she knew it made her more vulnerable and she wasn't sure she liked to feel that way. It was unfamiliar for her to feel so open, but when he was with her it was different. She felt different around him since she'd awaken.

"Sure. You would've asked the same to Reid or Hotch."

She lightly chuckled. "Well, I could've asked JJ to!"

"Oh, I would've love to see this." No need to turn around to know that he had a stupid grin on his face. His comment earned him another friendly slap on his arm from the brunette.

"Yeah, right!" She scoffed, as her lips crept into a smile. She set back her head against his chest and closed her eyes. "Thank you, Derek. Thank you for being here for me." She truly was thankful for what he was doing for her. He didn't have to, but she was glad he was there.

Derek stroke her hair and kissed the top of her head. "Anytime, Emily." They stayed like this for the rest of the night. Sleeping into each other's arms, both seeking for some comfort from one another. For the first time in days, Derek and Emly slept well. They were each other's reason for this good night of sleep.

He was first to wake up and noticed her still sleepy figure wrapped in his arms. A smile crept upon his lips at the sight. She looked so... so beautiful. He lost himself into his thoughts as he continued to watch her sleep. The next coming months were going to be hard for her and he would be there just like he promised her. No matter what, nothing was going to get in the way. Not even his transfer to New York. If hotch was really going to send him away, then he would resigned. It's not what he'd want, but if that meant keeping his promise and be by Emily's side then that's exactly what he wanted.

Someone scrapping its throat startled him out of his mind. Derek turned his head toward the noise and saw Hotch standing in the threshold, staring at him with a quizzical look. The dark skinned profiler gave a quick eye to the clock, unsure of the time. It was barely past six am. What was he doing here so early? Hotch made a little movement of the head toward the outside of the room and exited the room. Morgan sighed deeply. He knew why he came here. To talk to him. And he knew exactly what they were going to talk about. With the most delicateness he had, he snuck out of the bed, careful not to wake her and walked out to reach Hotch who stood near a coffee machine, his back turned from him.

"Hotch."

"Morgan."

His supervisor handed him one of the Styrofoam cup of coffee he had. Derek accepted it and thanked him almost reluctantly. He wasn't really in the mood to thank him when he knew he was here to send him away. It was like if everything they've been through as partners, as a team and as friends meant absolutely nothing to the man. Feeling his impatience growing inside him, he talked first. "What are you doing here, Hotch?" His tone was cold and Hotch seemed to have noticed it.

"I came to see Emily." Derek shot him a 'really' look, but didn't say anything to give him a chance to tell him the real truth. "Well, I also came to see you. I wanted to talk to you, Morgan."

Morgan put his free hand on his hip. "I'm listening."

Hotch took a deep breath before saying what he wanted. "I came here, mostly to apologize. I know I've been unfair toward you. I took a very important decision without really thinking it. Without thinking about the repercussion it would have on everyone." He paused, clearly looking for the right words to say. "I canceled your transfer."

"Why?"

"The way I reacted toward the whole situation was completely unprofessional. You were put into a very hard situation. I'm not sure how anyone else could have handle it without any harm. Someone's fate was doomed no matter what decision you would have taken. If it wasn't Paige, it would have been Emily."

Morgan furrowed his brow, not entirely satisfied. "You still haven't told me why you canceled my transfer."

"Because it was a stupid and unthoughtful decision and I'm sorry." Morgan was taken aback by the sincerity of his boss's tone. Though he had remained completely stoic with his face, his voice had betrayed him.

Derek acknowledged his apology and took a sip of his coffee. He grimaced at the horrible taste and turned to the nearest garbage to toss the cup. "You don't want to taste that, trust me. How about I'll get us some real coffee and we head to the bureau to talk about that canceled transfer before the briefing?"

Hotch nodded and toss his cup of coffee in the garbage. "Alright. Let's go!" A smile crept upon his lips as he motioned to Morgan to walk.

Just as they passed Emily's room, Derek put a hand on Hotch's shoulder. "Wait. There's just one thing I have to do. Lead the way, I'll join you back." As his supervisor nodded and continued to walk to the elevator, Morgan turned back and stepped into the brunette's room. She was still asleep. Derek slightly chuckled thinking about how many hours of sleep Emily had since the past week. But this time he wasn't worried to see her asleep because he knew she would wake up. He walked up to the bed and stroke her hair. "I have to go." He told her, as if she was listening. "But I promise, I'll be back by the end of the day." He kissed her forehead and reluctantly exited the room to join his boss.

* * *

**Sorry if I took longer to update. I'm still having internet connection problems. I took the risk to update my new chapter from work. I have an exam next week so there won't be any update to expect, but maybe in two weeks if I am not too busy.**

**Have a great weekend guys!**


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